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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC MINUTES 06102014I CITY OF ST. ANTHONY 2 CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MINUTES 3 JUNE 10, 2014 4 5 CALL TO ORDER. 6 7 Mayor Faust called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. 8 9 PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE. 10 11 Mayor Faust invited the Council and audience to join him in the Pledge of Allegiance. 12 13 ROLL CALL. 14 15 Present: Mayor Faust; Councilmembers Gray, Jenson, Roth and Stille. 16 Absent: None. 17 Also Present: City Manager Mark Casey, Fire Chief Mark Sitarz, Fire Marshal Chris Fuller, and 18 City Engineer Todd Hubmer (WSB & Associates). 19 Guests: Phil Belfiori and Kyle Axtell (Rice Creek Watershed District). 20 21 CONSIDERATION, DISCUSSION, AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON ALL OF THE FOLLOWING 22 ITEMS. 23 24 I. APPROVAL OF JUNE 10, 2014, CITY COUNCIL MEETING AGENDA. 25 26 Motion by Councilmember Jenson, seconded by Councilmember Gray, to approve the City 27 Council Meeting Agenda of June 10, 2014. 28 29 Motion carried unanimously, 30 31 II. PROCLAMATIONS AND RECOGNITIONS - NONE. 32 33 11I. CONSENT AGENDA. 34 35 A. Consider May 27, 2014, Council meeting minutes; 36 B. Consider licenses and permits; 37 C. Consider pUment of claims; and 38 D. Consider Resolution 14-041; a Resolution callingfor or a Special City Council meeting on 39 Monday, June 30, 2014. 40 41 Motion by Councilmember Stille, seconded by Councilmember Jenson, to approve the Consent 42 Agenda items. 43 44 Motion carried unanimously. 45 46 IV. PUBLIC HEARING - NONE. 47 48 V. REPORTS FROM COMMISSION AND STAFF - NONE. 49 50 V1. GENERAL BUSINESS OF COUNCIL. City Council Regular Meeting Minutes June 10, 2014 Page 2 A. Resolution 14-042; a Resolution Approving a Request to Keep Five (5) Female Chickens in an R-1 Zoning District at 3520 Edward Street. Mark Casey, City Manager, presenting. City Manager Casey presented the applicant's request to keep five chickens in their yard and introduced Valentina and Alexander Poletz. 8 Ms. Poletz stated they would like to keep chickens in their yard and they have a plan for housing 9 the chickens as noted in their written request. 10 11 Councilmember Stille reminded the applicants that when chickens are chicks they might not 12 know if they are females or roosters and cautioned the applicants to have a plan for managing the 13 chickens if it turns out they are roosters. 14 15 Ms. Poletz stated she understood they would not be able to keep any roosters. 16 17 Motion by Councilmember Roth, seconded by Councilmember Jenson, to adopt Resolution 14- 18 042; a Resolution to Approve a Request to Keep Five (5) Female Chickens in an R-1 Zoning 19 District at 3520 Edward Street. 20 21 Motion carried unanimously. 22 23 B. Resolution 14-043; a Resolution of Intent to Amend the Petition for the New Brighton/St. 24 Anthony Basic Water Management Project, Rice Creek Watershed District Project 2013- 25 01, to allow Implementation of Mirror Lake and Hansen Park Project Components 26 without Delay, to Acknowledge the Allocation of Local Project Costs for the Mirror Lake 27 and Hansen Park Project Components, to Allow Proceeding to Project Phase 2 & 3 for 28 other Project Components, to Consent to the Addition of the City of Roseville as an 29 Additional Petitioner for the Basic Water Management Project, and Authorizing 30 Amended Petition. Phil Belfrori and Kyle Axtell, Rice Creek Watershed District, and 31 Todd Hubmer, WSB & Associates, presenting. 32 33 City Engineer Hubmer explained that following the 2011 flood event, the cities of St. Anthony 34 and New Brighton prepared flood investigation reports and subsequently petitioned the Rice 35 Creek Watershed District for improvements to Ramsey County Ditches 2, 3, and 5. He stated the 36 City of Roseville has requested to be added to the petition because it has experienced flooding in 37 the system and has land in a significant portion of the watershed. He stated the Rice Creek 38 Watershed District's engineers concurred that two project improvements would provide a 39 multitude of benefits related to flooding as well as water quality in Long Lake and Pike Lake and 40 advised that a $3 million grant has been secured from the Board of Water & Soil Resources to 41 implement the projects at Hansen Park in New Brighton and Mirror Lake in St. Anthony. He 42 then introduced Mr. Phil Belfrori and Mr. Kyle Axtell from Rice Creek Watershed District. 43 44 Mr. Belfrori thanked the City on behalf of Rice Creek Watershed District staff and the Rice 45 Creek Watershed District Board of Managers for the City's leadership and assistance in working 46 together on these projects. He provided background information regarding the Long Lake 47 targeted watershed demonstration project and the Ramsey County Ditch project and stated that in 48 2009, the Hansen Park and Mirror Pond projects were listed as high priority projects. He stated City Council Regular Meeting Minutes June 10, 2014 Page 3 1 that the petition's purpose is to solve flooding issues and comprehensive flood damage and 2 consider downstream impacts to achieve water quality goals where possible. He acknowledged 3 the strong partnership between the cities of St. Anthony, New Brighton, Roseville, Ramsey 4 County Parks, University of Minnesota, Friends of the Mississippi River, and the Board of Water 5 & Soil Resources and stated there are four projects as part of the grant with a timeline of four 6 years. 8 Mr. Axtell explained that the restoration of Middle Rice Creek through the former TCAAP 9 property will reconnect several of the historic meanders and decrease sediment transport and the 10 estimated cost of this project is $870,000. He stated the carp management component will focus 11 on Long Lake and the estimated cost of this project is $425,000. He advised that the Hansen 12 Park concept includes dredging Hansen Pond to restore water quality depth and adding flood 13 storage capacity as well as modifying the outlet structure to provide flood control. He noted this 14 project also includes adding an iron -enhanced sand filter that will dissolve phosphorous as well 15 as a water reuse system to irrigate the ball fields and the estimated cost of this project is $4.8 16 million. He stated the Mirror Pond project is similar to the Hansen Park project and includes 17 dredging the pond to restore water quality and flood storage capacity as well as replacing the 18 current outlet structure that has failed and the estimated cost of this project is $815,000. 19 20 Mr. Belfiori reviewed the project funding and stated the Rice Creek Watershed District Board of 21 Managers recently recognized the regional benefit of flood control of these projects and their 22 positive impact on flooding and proposes to use the District -wide ad valorem levy to pay for the 23 regional flood control portions of the project. He pointed out that any future conversions of the 24 flood control benefit might result in a proportionate assessment to a community if that 25 community chooses to use that flood benefit. 26 27 Mayor Faust indicated the City began planning this work in 2009 and the project timeline 28 extends out to 2018 and it is important for residents to recognize that these types of projects take 29 time. He stated this project is an example of how several entities can work together to get a job 30 done holistically that serves all residents in the future. He expressed the City Council's thanks 31 and appreciation to Rice Creek Watershed District staff and the Rice Creek Watershed District 32 Board of Managers. 33 34 Councilmember Jenson requested further information about the Mirror Pond concept in terms of 35 the benefits to residents. 36 37 Mr. Belfiori explained that the drawdown function is intended to allow the rate of water during a 38 storm to be managed gradually so that the entire amount of water does not go downstream all at 39 once and should reduce the stress on the system carrying water out of the pond, which is part of 40 the issue with flooding in the area because the channel downstream is not big enough to handle 41 runoff all at once. 42 43 Councilmember Stille thanked Rice Creek Watershed District for its help in getting the funding 44 in place and working together toward a solution. He requested further information about future 45 conversions of flood control being assessed to the various cities. 46 47 Mr. Belfiori explained that as part of the petition process, if a city wishes to use some of the 48 storage being created as part of a more localized flood control project, e.g., increasing catch City Council Regular Meeting Minutes June 10, 2014 Page 4 basins, the Rice Creek Watershed District Board of Managers would consider these types of smaller projects as a local benefit. 4 Motion by Councilmember Roth, seconded by Councilmember Gray, to adopt Resolution 14- 5 043; a Resolution of Intent to Amend the Petition for the New Brighton/St. Anthony Basic Water 6 Management Project, Rice Creek Watershed District Project 2013-01, to Allow Implementation 7 of Mirror Lake and Hansen Park Project Components without Delay, to Acknowledge the 8 Allocation of Local Project Costs for the Mirror Lake and Hansen Park Project Components, to 9 Allow Proceeding to Project Phase 2 & 3 for other Project Components, to Consent to the 10 Addition of the City of Roseville as an Additional Petitioner for the Basic Water Management 11 Project, and Authorizing Amended Petition. 12 13 Motion carried unanimously. 14 15 C. Resolution 14-044; a Resolution Adoptingthe he Sign Retroreflectivity Policy. Todd 16 Hubmer, WSB & Associates, presenting. 17 18 City Engineer Hubmer explained that Federal law requires cities to update their street signs and 19 pass certain minimum standards for sign reflectivity and the City is now required to have a 20 policy in place addressing signs and sign maintenance. He noted that the City currently replaces 21 all City street signs associated with a street reconstruction project. 22 23 Councilmember Stille asked about Article V regarding removal of signs and asked if bike route 24 signs are included as part of this policy. 25 26 City Engineer Hubmer stated the City will review signs in critical situations, e.g., pedestrian 27 crossing signs, snow plow route signs, and no parking signs and may want to change the location 28 of some of those signs so that attention is brought to the pedestrian crossing sign and to avoid 29 cluttering locations with multiple signs. 30 31 Motion by Councilmember Gray, seconded by Councilmember Stille, to adopt Resolution 14- 32 044; a Resolution Adopting Sign Retroreflectivity Policy. 33 34 Motion carried unanimously. 35 36 D. Resolution 14-045; a Resolution Ordering Preparation of Feasibility Report for the 2015 37 Street and Utility Improvements. Todd Hubmer, WSB & Associates, presentine. 38 39 City Engineer Hubmer explained that the 2015 street and utility improvement project is located 40 on Chelmsford Road from 36`h Avenue NE to 37th Avenue NE and 36th Avenue NE from Silver 41 Lake Road to Highcrest Road. He pointed out that staff is proposing to add mill and overlay on 42 St. Anthony Boulevard from Ridgeway Parkway to the bridge crossing as well as some surface 43 improvements to select alleys. He advised that the City has been tracking the cost of 44 maintenance on its alleys and the cost to continue to maintain them is rapidly approaching the 45 cost to reconstruct. He explained that several alleys were not reconstructed as part of flood 46 mitigation on the south side of the City and those alleys are a priority. He presented the project 47 schedule and stated that construction is scheduled to begin in May 2015 with substantial 48 completion in September 2015. City Council Regular Meeting Minutes June 10, 2014 Page 5 Motion by Councilmember Roth, seconded by Councilmember Jenson, to adopt Resolution 14- 045; a Resolution Ordering Preparation of a Feasibility Report for the 2015 Street and Utility Improvements. Motion carried unanimously. E. Severe Weather Preparations. Mark Sitarz, Fire Chief, presenting. 10 Fire Chief Sitarz introduced Fire Marshal Chris Fuller. 11 12 Fire Marshal Fuller discussed the importance of severe weather awareness and reviewed the 13 different types of weather warnings. He advised resident that they can sign up to receive email 14 or text alerts on multiple websites and various social media. He also provided siren activation 15 information and urged residents to be aware of the warning terms for a severe thunderstorm 16 watch, severe thunderstorm warning, and advisory and provided tips for remaining safe during a 17 thunderstorm. He discussed the dangers of driving through moving water during a flood and also 18 discussed the tornado watch and tornado warning definitions. He urged residents to purchase a 19 NOAA weather radio and encouraged residents to make an advance plan in the event of a storm 20 and to prepare a kit that includes items such as a three-day supply of one gallon of water per 21 person per day along with nonperishable food, flashlights, radio, extra cash, and mediations. He 22 reminded residents that City staff are prepared and have the experience and training to assist 23 residents and the City departments all work together to get things back to normal as quickly as 24 possible after a storm. 25 26 Fire Chief Sitarz stated that an article regarding severe weather preparedness will appear in an 27 upcoming newsletter. 28 29 Fire Chief Sitarz introduced Firefighter Mattie Jaros, the Fire Department's newest full-time 30 firefighter, and stated that Ms. Jaros started as a part-time firefighter in April 2008. He stated 31 that Ms. Jaros has spearheaded the Fire Department's focus on physical fitness and she is a great 32 addition to the Fire Department. 33 34 Mayor Faust welcomed Ms. Jaros to the Fire Department. 35 36 Fire Chief Sitarz advised that he was notified today that the Fire Department's grant application 37 to Ramsey County Emergency Management was approved for $41,000 and will be used to 38 replace the Department's portable radios. 39 40 VII. REPORTS FROM CITY MANAGER AND COUNCIL MEMBERS. 41 42 City Manager Casey stated that at the February 25`h City Council meeting, Hennepin County 43 Engineer Jim Grube was asked about the cooperative arrangements with Ramsey County on 44 County Road C where Hennepin and Ramsey Counties overlap. He reported that he received a 45 letter from Mr. Grube on behalf of Hennepin County Commissioner Higgins indicating that the 46 City's request was well founded and has been included in the County's 2015-2019 capital 47 improvement plan resulting in a cooperative effort between Hennepin and Ramsey Counties as it 48 relates to reconstruction of County Road C. He discussed the City's biofiltration project on the 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 City Council Regular Meeting Minutes June 10, 2014 Page 6 north side of Central Park and stated that further information is available on the City's website that includes information about project need and a description of the project. Councilmember Gray — no report. Councilmember Jenson announced the St. Anthony Civic Orchestra summer schedule includes performances on Sunday, June 22"d, at 7:00 p.m. at Como Park Pavilion; Thursday, June 26`h, at 7:00 p.m. at Chandler Place; and Thursday, July 3`d, at 7:00 p.m. at Salo Park amphitheater. Councilmember Roth reported on his attendance at the Parks Commission meeting on June 9d' Councilmember Stille — no report. Mayor Faust reported on his attendance at a June 2"d meeting with the city managers and mayors of the cities that are part of the North Suburban Cable Commission to discuss governance and ways to meet the needs of the 215` century as well as the cable franchise renewal with Comcast. He advised the City Council that he has divested his financial interest in Comcast and will be able to vote on this matter in the future. VIII. COMMUNITY FORUM. Mayor Faust invited residents to come forward at this time and address the Council on items that are not on the regular agenda. Hearing none, Mayor Faust moved forward with the agenda. IX. INFORMATION AND ANNOUNCEMENTS. None. X. ADJOURNMENT. Mayor Faust adjourned the meeting at 8:10 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Barbara Hughes (TimeSaver Off Site Secretarial, ATTEST: City Clerk Inc.) �— Mayor