HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC MINUTES 062420141
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CITY OF ST. ANTHONY
CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MINUTES
JUNE 24, 2014
CALL TO ORDER.
Mayor Faust called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE.
Mayor Faust invited the Council and audience to join him in the Pledge of Allegiance.
ROLL CALL.
Present: Mayor Faust; Councilmembers Jenson, Roth, and Stille.
Absent: Councilmember Gray.
Also Present: City Manager Mark Casey, Public Works Director Jay Hartman, and Finance Director
Shelly Rueckert.
Guests: James Strommen (Kennedy & Graven) and Peggy Moeller (HLB Tautges Redpath).
CONSIDERATION, DISCUSSION, AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON ALL OF THE FOLLOWING
ITEMS.
I. APPROVAL OF JUNE 24, 2014, CITY COUNCIL MEETING AGENDA.
Motion by Councilmember Jenson, seconded by Councilmember Stille, to approve the City
Council Meeting Agenda of June 24, 2014.
Motion carried 4-0.
II. PROCLAMATIONS AND RECOGNITIONS - NONE.
III. CONSENT AGENDA.
A. Consider June 10, 2014, Council meeting minutes;
B. Consider licenses and permits:
C. Consider pa entm
D. Consider Resolution 14-046: a Resolution Accentin¢ Grants and Donations as Received
in the Second Quarter of 2014; and
E. Consider Resolution 14-047, a Resolution Authorizing the Execution of a Joint
Cooperation Agreement between the City of St. Anthony Village and Hennepin County
for Participation in the Urban Hennepin County Community Development Block Grant
Program in Fiscal Years 2015-2017.
Motion by Councilmember Stille, seconded by Councilmember Jenson, to approve the Consent
Agenda items.
IV. PUBLIC HEARING - NONE.
Motion carried 4-0.
City Council Regular Meeting Minutes
June 24, 2014
Page 2
V. REPORTS FROM COMMISSION AND STAFF - NONE.
4 VI. GENERAL BUSINESS OF COUNCIL.
A. Resolution 14-048• a Resolution Approving a Request to Keep Five Female Chickens in
an R-1 Zoning District at 3100 Hilldale Avenue. Mark Casey, City Manager, presenting.
9 City Manager Casey presented the applicant's request to keep five female chickens and
10 introduced Ms. Renee Reed.
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12 Ms. Reed stated she is requesting to house five female chickens and has made arrangements to
13 relocate the chicks if any of them are roosters. She advised she has purchased a 3'x3' coop and
14 attached run that is 4'x3'. She stated everything would be encased in chicken wire and located
15 behind a playhouse and not visible by her neighbors. She added she has talked to all of her
16 neighbors and none of them indicated a concern about the chickens.
17
18 Motion by Councilmember Roth, seconded by Councilmember Jenson, to adopt Resolution 14-
19 042; a Resolution to Approve a Request to Keep Five (5) Female Chickens in an R-1 Zoning
20 District at 3100 Hilldale Avenue.
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22 Councilmember Stille noted that chickens are allowed under the current Ordinance but these
23 requests are currently dealt with on an individual basis because the City Council has not yet
24 studied the Ordinance.
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26 Motion carried 4-0.
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28 B. Resolution 14-049; a Resolution Authorizing Membership in the Suburban Rate
29 Authority, a Joint Powers Organization under Minnesota Statutes §471.59, Authorizing
30 Execution of the Amended Joint and Cooperative Agreement and Appointing Jay
31 Hartman and Mark Casey as Director and Alternate, respectively, to the Suburban Rate
32 Authority Board. James Strommen, Kennedy & Graven, presenting.
33
34 Mayor Faust introduced Mr. James Strommen.
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36 Mr. Strommen explained that the Suburban Rate Authority (SRA) is an active joint powers
37 organization that serves as an active watchdog for suburbs and ratepayers and includes 28
38 suburban municipality members with a total population of approximately 900,000 and the SRA
39 provides an effective collective voice before the Public Utilities Commission on matters of
40 electricity, gas, and telephone, as well as right-of-way management for utility franchises and cell
41 towers. He stated the SRA meets four times per year and acts on policy issues and other
42 important matters that make a difference to the member cities and ratepayers.
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44 Mayor Faust stated that the City has never been a member of the SRA and the cost to participate
45 is $800 per year.
46
City Council Regular Meeting Minutes
June 24, 2014
Page 3
1 Mr. Strommen reported that the SRA was recently able to obtain outage credits for
2 municipalities with municipal pumping stations and the City will receive a credit this month
3 from Xcel in the amount of $2,520 for its pumping stations.
4
5 Councilmember Stille stated that the League's annual conference included a session on LED
6 lighting and negotiations with Xcel or other service providers to share in the cost of LED lighting
7 and this issue is important to the City as it works to satisfy its sustainability goals.
9 Mr. Strommen stated that the SRA completed a study six years ago on competition when cities
10 are not happy with the products that Xcel provides and Xcel is currently conducting a pilot
11 program in West St. Paul. He indicated there are other providers available to cities and this
12 makes a difference in terms of contracts that can be pursued and the SRA wants Xcel to move on
13 this by offering more LED lighting.
14
15 Motion by Councilmember Roth, seconded by Councilmember Stille, to adopt Resolution 14-
16 049; a Resolution Authorizing Membership in the Suburban Rate Authority, a Joint Powers
17 Organization under Minnesota Statutes §471.59, Authorizing Execution of the Amended Joint
18 and Cooperative Agreement and Appointing Jay Hartman and Mark Casey as Director and
19 Alternate, respectively, to the Suburban Rate Authority Board.
20
21 Motion carried 4-0.
22
23 C. 2013 Audit Presentation. Peggy Moeller, HLB Taut eg s Redpath. Ltd., presenting.
24
25 Ms. Moeller explained that five reports are issued as part of the 2013 audit, including the
26 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR), State Legal Compliance Report, Report on
27 Internal Controls, Audit Management Report, and Communication with those Charged with
28 Governance and reported that the City has received an unmodified, or clean, opinion on its 2013
29 financial statements. She stated the State Legal Compliance Report is required by statute and
30 covers seven categories and they performed tests in all categories and there were no findings of
31 noncompliance. She explained that they do not audit the City's internal controls as part of the
32 Report on Internal Control; rather, they consider the City's internal controls as they plan and
33 perform the audit and there was one finding reported for 2013 related to lack of segregation of
34 duties. She explained that this is a function of the size of the City's staff and is the most
35 common finding they give. She stated the Management Letter shows that the General Fund
36 balance increased $173,202 during 2013 and 2013 revenues came in over budget by
37 approximately $430,000 and expenditures were over budget by approximately $247,000 and the
38 General Fund balance at the end of 2013 was $2,148,539. She explained the City's minimum
39 fund balance policy of 30-35% and indicated the fund balance at December 31, 2013, was
40 sufficient to meet the City's cash flow needs. She reviewed the Water and Sewer Enterprise
41 Fund indicating that operating income for water during 2013 was $139,939 and sewer expenses
42 exceeded revenue for a loss of $71,789. She also reviewed the Liquor Fund indicating 2013 net
43 income before transfers of $490,396 and noted the City was able to transfer approximately
44 $439,000 into the General Fund and Capital Equipment Fund. She reported that the auditors
45 encountered no difficulties in performing the audit and there were no disagreements with
46 management during the audit. She advised that the City was required to include GASB
47 Statement No. 65 during the 2013 audit related to reporting of unavailable revenue as well as
48 how the City treats issuance costs on debt, adding that issuance costs were previously amortized
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City Council Regular Meeting Minutes
June 24, 2014
Page 4
over the life of the bond and GASB No. 65 requires these costs to be expensed in the year of
issuance. She reported the City will be required to implement GASB Statement No. 68 for the
year ended December 31, 2015, that requires cities to report a liability for its proportionate share
of PERA liability and Fire Relief. She thanked all of the City staff that assisted during the audit.
Motion by Councilmember Stille, seconded by Councilmember Jenson, to accept the 2013 Audit
Report as presented.
Motion carried 4-0.
VII. REPORTS FROM CITY MANAGER AND COUNCIL MEMBERS.
City Manager Casey reported on the ongoing discussions about the Comcast renewal including
discussions about the future governance structure of the North Suburban Cable Commission. He
stated that Councilmember Gray serves as chair of the strategic planning subcommittee of the
North Suburban Cable Commission and there was a meeting yesterday to discuss a proposed
governance model and further information will be presented to the City Council.
Councilmember Jenson reported on his attendance at the annual League conference held June
18-20 in St. Cloud.
Councilmember Roth reported on his attendance at the annual League conference last week.
Councilmember Stille reported on his attendance at the annual League conference last week. He
also reported on his attendance at the June 23rd Planning Commission meeting.
Mayor Faust reported on his attendance at the annual League conference last week and stated he
led a workshop that included a tour of the water treatment facility, waste water treatment plant,
hydro facility dam, and Munsinger Gardens. He stated he also presented information on the
City's annual goal setting and strategic planning. He thanked the City Councilmembers for
taking vacation time to attend the annual League conference.
33 VIII. COMMUNITY FORUM.
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Mayor Faust invited residents to come forward at this time and address the Council on items that
are not on the regular agenda.
Mr. Kent Horsager, 3529 Edward Street, thanked the Mayor, City Council, and City Manager
Casey for their willingness to discuss the issue of beekeeping with him. He stated that bees have
been kept for a number of years in the City and for the last twenty years the same Code has been
in place regarding beekeeping and only recently has the Code been reinterpreted to disallow
beekeeping. He indicated it was his understanding there has only been one complaint about bee
hives and the beekeeper promptly removed the hives and this prompted a larger response from
the City to shut down or reinterpret the Code to not allow beekeeping. He expressed concern
about the current Code and urged the City Council to refocus the conversation regarding
beekeeping on the mission of the City and not add unnecessary code. He stated that nineteen
surrounding municipalities have no beekeeping code and use their nuisance code if there are
issues with beekeeping and he felt this represented a much better path moving forward. He
City Council Regular Meeting Minutes
June 24, 2014
Page 5
1 suggested that the Planning Commission be tasked with evaluating the nuisance code as a way to
2 address beekeeping and provide guidance if there is an issue and added that beekeepers are
3 interested in being good stewards and felt the nuisance code could be used to resolve any issues.
4
5 Ms. Beth Horsager, 3529 Edward Street, presented a photo album of beekeeping activities and
6 stated they have been keeping bees and hosting an annual honey harvest for many years. She
7 stated they are an organic, sustainable activity that benefits community members and they do not
8 sell their honey or make any profit and their hobby is educational and brings the community
9 together in a positive way.
10
11 Mr. Dan Mathieu, 3536 Edward Street, expressed support for the Horsagers and stated the annual
12 honey harvest is a great community event.
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14 Ms. Lona Doolan, 3511 Harding Street, stated she maintains the community garden at Nativity
15 Church and is a member of Citizens for Sustainability that seeks to promote sustainable living in
16 St. Anthony and feels fortunate to live in city where City officials have published a sustainability
17 plan. She agreed with Mr. Horsager's suggestion to rely on the nuisance code rather than
18 adopting new codes related to beekeeping and added she felt that City government should
19 provide more information to residents interested in implementing sustainability practices.
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21 Mayor Faust clarified that the City has not reinterpreted the Code and stated that the City has to
22 address issues as they come up and cannot write a codebook that encompasses everything,
23 adding that the City does not want to write a codebook that is onerous and is not interested in
24 propagating more code. He stated the Planning Commission has beekeeping on its 2013 work
25 plan and will work to find standards that fit the entire community and the City Council is
26 committed to its sustainability goals and has to balance what is best for all by working through
27 these issues slowly and methodically for the overall betterment of the community. He thanked
28 everyone for attending this evening and reiterated the City Council's commitment to work
29 through this issue to get to a good result.
30
31 IX. INFORMATION AND ANNOUNCEMENTS.
32
33 Councilmember Stille noted that the City Council has scheduled a special meeting on Monday,
34 June 30, 2014.
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36 X. ADJOURNMENT.
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38 Mayor Faust adjourned the meeting at 8:08 p.m.
39
40 Respectfully submitted,
41 Barbara Hughes (TimeSaver Off Site Secretarial, Inc.) c '
42 �- 1 �✓/
43 ATTEST: Mayor
44 City Clerk