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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC MINUTES 06141988C= TY (DIP S T_ ANTHONY C OUN C= L M= NUT E S J UN E 1 4, 1 9 8 8 1 The meeting opened at 7:30 P.M. with the Pledge of Allegiance led by 2 Mayor Sundland. Two applicants to represent the City on the East 3 Side Hennepin County Human Services Advisory Committee had been 4 interviewed by the Council prior to the meeting. 5 Present for roll call: Marks, Sundland, Ranallo, Enrooth, Makowske. 6 Also present: David Childs, City Manager. 7 SENATOR MARTY REPORTS LEGISLATIVE SESSION 8 The legislator apologized for not meeting with the Council earlier. 9 However, he said Mr. Childs had been keeping him well informed 10 related to matters particularly of interest to the City over the last 11 year and a half. Senator Marty indicated he had set up a better 12 system for answering his mail and returning calls than he had at 13 first, but urged the Councilmembers to call him at the phone number 14 he had distributed if they ever again failed to get an immediate 15 response to a letter. 16 Senator Justifies Ave Vote on Property Tax Bill 17 Councilmember Ranallo asked the lawmaker why, as the City's 18 representative, he had voted for a property tax bill which gave the 19 City an 11% tax increase while outstate communities received 20 increases of only 1/10 of 1%. 21 Senator Marty said he had voted for what he considered to be a 22 "decent package overall" which had removed some taxes he believed 23 should never have been imposed in the first place. He indicated he 24 was still trying to find out what the tax bill's long term impact on 25 suburbs would be, but the tax experts had told him that: 26 *despite the Municipal Legislative Commission lawsuit challenging 27 the legislation, the suburbs could be expected to do much better 28 over the next three to five year period; 29 *the new local aid formula would actually be better for communities 30 like St. Anthony which are fiscally responsible because the system 31 had been changed to not reward local governments which spend the 32 most; 1 1 *this year's tax bill would hold down property taxes by about 2 $200,000,000 over what they would have been without those changes; 3 *The $53,000,000 one time payment to cities who have been spending 4 the most was intended to make up for the impact the law would have 5 on them later on. 6 Mr. Childs told the legislator what troubled him most about the bill 7 was that the City of St. Anthony, which has been a low taxing city, 8 is penalized because the formula is based on the total mill rate, 9 which includes one of the highest taxing school districts and 10 counties. 11 Councilmember Marks told Senator Marty the suburbs perceive the 12 larger cities like Minneapolis and St. Paul have formed a "power 13 block" which the suburbs, because of different problems, find hard to 14 coordinate against. He said cities like St. Anthony who are willing 15 to pay more for better quality schooling for its children are also 16 "put at loggerheads" with outstate communities who don't spend that 17 much. 18 Mayor Sundland indicated that was why he perceived it was incumbent 19 upon the City's representatives to make a distinction between the 20 school district's and City's spending in the tax package. 21 Senator Marty indicated he agreed that the larger cities had more 22 "clout" because they were able to put more lobbyists over at the 23 capitol and he promised to look further into the question of the long 24 term impact of splitting school rates from the City's and to consider 25 at least raising that question the next time tax legislation is 26 proposed. 27 Councilmember Marks suggested fair distribution of tax increment 28 financing was another issue which the legislator could keep his eye 29 on for the suburbs. 30 Legislation having to do with obscenity and the state's role in 31 solving St. Anthony's water contamination problems were discussed 32 briefly before Senator Marty was thanked for coming and left the 33 meeting. 34 MAY 24, 1988 COUNCIL MINUTES 35 Motion by Marks, seconded by Enrooth to approve the above with the 36 following changes: 37 Page 7, line 22: Substitute "be invited" for "had requested". 38 Page 9, lines 39 16 & 17: Substitute "the government doesn't provide water 40 for its residents which instead is provided by 2 1 private companies" for all wording beyond "Euro - 2 pean cities....". 3 Page 10, line 28: Delete "under which" put a period after "session" 4 and capitalize "Cities". 5 Notion 0 7 Motion by Ranallo, seconded by Marks to grant the following permits 8 and licenses as listed in the June 14th Council agenda packet: 9 Multiple Dwelling Registration 10 Michael Miller, 3701 Chandler Drive, Macalaster Apartments 11 Contractors 12 Silvertree Construction, Inc., Minneapolis 13 Albert Kastner & Sons, Inc., St. Paul 14 Heating 15 Northeast Sheet Metal, Inc. 16 Richmond & Sons Electric, Inc. 17 Golden Valley Heating & Air Conditioning 18 Sharp Heating and Air Conditioning 19 Owens Services Corporation 20 St. Marie Sheet Metal, Inc. 21 Sedgwick Heating & Air Conditioning 22 Acme Sheet Metal Company 23 Standard Heating & Air Conditioning 24 Superior Contractors, Inc. 25 Midwest Mechanical 26 Air Comfort, Inc. 27 Air Conditioning Associates, Inc. 28 Yale Incorporated 29 Market Mechanical Refrigeration & Air Conditioning 30 Airco Heating & Air Conditioning 31 Motion carried unani 32 Motion by Ranallo, seconded by Sundland to grant a temporary 3.2 beer 33 permit to Susan Johnson, 3100 -29th Avenue N.E., for the neighborhood 34 picnic in Silver Point Park, June 26th to kick off Dave Freund's bike 35 marathon between Seattle and Minneapolis. 36 Voting on the motion: 37 Aye: Ranallo, Sundland, Enrooth, Makowske. 38 Nay: Marks. 3 I 2 CLAIMS !lotion carried. 3 Motion by Marks, seconded by Makowske to approve payment of all 4 accounts payable listed for May 31st and June 14th in the June 14, 5 1988 Council agenda packet. n 7 Motion by Marks, seconded by Enrooth to approve the following 8 payments as listed in the June 14, 1988 Council agenda packet: 9 *$3,194.20 to Short -Elliott -Hendrickson, Inc. for engineering 10 services through April on the plans and specifications for re - 11 placement of the existing Foss Road pumping station; 12 *$7,898.80 to Rieke -Carroll -Muller Associates for engineering 13 services through May on the temporary water treatment (carbon 14 filtration) facility; 15 *$800.00 to RCM for engineering services through May related to 16 the Kenzie Terrace traffic signals; 17 *$506.64 to RCM for services through May in conjunction with the 18 sanitary sewer study; 19 *$380.25 and $952.92 to the Dorsey & Whitney law firm for legal 20 services during March and April. 21 Motion carried unanimously. 22 Motion by Ranallo, seconded by Makowske to approve payment of 23 $2,200.00 to the Hance and LeVahn law firm for legal services 24 rendered for the month of June relative to St. Anthony prosecutions. OA61 26 Makowske Pleased with Tone of Attorney's Letters to Congressmen 27 The Councilmember commented that she thought Mr. VandeNorth had 28 handled the above communications very well before she seconded the 29 following: 30 Motion by Marks, seconded by Makowske to approve payment of $6,134.02 31 to the Briggs and Morgan law firm for legal services through April 32 relative to the City's lawsuit against the U.S. Army et al in 33 conjunction with St. Anthony's water contamination problems. 34 4 Motion carried unanimously. 1 Motion by Ranallo, seconded by Enrooth to approve payment of a 2 premium of $68,951.00 to the League of Minnesota Cities Insurance 3 Trust for participation in the League's Self -Insured Workers' 4 Compensation program. 5 Notion carried unanimously. 6 Boulevard Reconstruction Ahead of Schedule 7 Councilmembers expressed great satisfaction with the progress being 8 made on the St. Anthony Boulevard reconstruction project before 9 approving the following: 10 Motion by Marks, seconded by Enrooth to approve payment of $61,117.09 11 to the Ashbach Construction Company for boulevard grading and paving 12 as well as Kenzie Terrace street improvements through May. 13 Notion carried unanimously. 14 Motion by Marks, seconded by Makowske to approve payment of 15 $41,761.25 to Lakeland Ford for the GVW dump truck purchased by the 16 Public Works Department. 17 • - . 711W_q 7_1171 18 Motion by Ranallo, seconded by Enrooth to approve payment of 19 $9,000.00 to School District #282 for the use of the Parkview 20 facilities during April, May, and June. 21 Notion carried unanimously. 22 Work on SAV I Liquor Warehouse to be Completed Shortly 23 Mr. Childs explained that the billing from the architects was for 24 work already completed by the contractors, Fullerton Lumber Company, 25 to whom the payment would be made. He said any work left on the 26 punch list would be completed shortly and would be billed at a later 27 date. 28 Motion by Marks, seconded by Sundland to approve payment of $6,978.00 29 to the Fullerton Lumber Company. 30 31 REPORTS 32 COUNCIL 33 Sprinkling Schedule Prompts Calls to Councilmembers 34 Some of the above involved confusion about just when residents could 35 sprinkle and others came from residents who were reporting instances 5 1 of non-conformance. The Mayor said he was suggesting his callers 2 make lists of the latter to be submitted to City Hall for follow-up 3 on the violations. 4 When Councilmember Ranallo reported some of his callers were still 5 confused about just when they could water their lawns, he was told 6 the City's schedule had been published in the papers when it first 7 went into effect and had been broadcast over both radio and 8 television since then. One of the television stations even has a 9 City Line where residents can call to get the exact hours they can 10 water in St. Anthony. 11 Hand Watering Doesn't Violate City's Ordinance 12 The above clarification was made by the City Manager after hearing a 13 report that one City resident had been filmed with a hose in her 14 hand by a TV crew who were televising "sprinkling cheaters". Mr. 15 Childs added that every City Manager he had talked to had reported 16 having the same type of communication and compliance problem. He 17 then reminded the Councilmembers that the City's sprinkling ban would 18 no longer be necessary after the carbon filtration system 19 installation is completed early in July and the City is able to 20 reopen Well #3. In the meantime, the City hasn't run out of water 21 and the Police Reserves are continuing to talk to residents who are 22 not complying with the restrictions. 23 City's Administration Fee for Burglar Alarms to be Reviewed 24 Mayor Sundland reported hearing from one resident who was "quite 25 incensed" about having to pay a $25 fee when he had the above 26 equipment installed in his home. The resident had argued that 27 charging a fee for installing such safety measures might prove to be 28 "counterproductive" and "a benefit to the criminal element in the 29 long run because citizens might decide not to put in burglar alarms 30 because of the added costs." The Mayor confessed that he had not 31 realized alarm owners had to pay $25.00 to renew the license each 32 year and had argued that the one time fee was not so bad when you 33 considered all the administrative costs the City incurred, setting up 34 and keeping a file on each alarm, the police inspection of the 35 equipment, and the fact that the owner can have 3 false alarms 36 before he is charged. Councilmember Enrooth reported receiving 37 several complaints about the fees and wondered if the costs had been 38 fully explained to the license holders when they were first issued. 39 Mr. Childs said he would review the fees with the Police Chief to 40 ascertain the costs on which the fee structure was originally set up 41 and would have the Chief prepare a report on the matter for a future 42 Council meeting. 43 Prospective Kenzie Terrace Project Developer Seeking Parking Lot 44 Parcel 11 1 The Mayor reported that with Kraus Anderson (the owner), and Red 2 Owl/Town and Country Foods, who lease the property east of the Kenzie 3 Terrace Redevelopment site, have taken place. The City perceives 4 that Lang/Nelson considers addition of that small parcel second in 5 importance only to their being able to get financing for the 6 project. The additional land would allow the developers to increase 7 the unit size in their apartment proposal. Mayor Sundland indicated 8 he perceived the Town and Country management to be very supportive of 9 the transfer of property. Mr. Childs reported further on the matter 10 later in the evening. 11 Channel 16 Carrying City Council Meeting Agendas 12 Although there had been no response that evening, Councilmember 13 Makowske indicated she was hopeful that once residents became 14 accustomed to seeing the agendas televised, they might be prompted to 15 attend meetings and provide input towards issues which interested 16 them. 17 Paul Douglas Requested to Broadcast Weather Program From Churilla 18 Garden 19 Councilmember Makowske reported that she had called Robert Churilla 20 as soon as she had read the feature story in the Bulletin about his 21 garden at 2608 -34th Avenue being included in the National Men's 22 Garden Club of American tour the first weekend in July. After 23 congratulating the resident, she said she had cleared the above 24 suggestion with Mr. Churilla before asking Mr. Childs to submit a 25 request that Mr. Churilla's garden be considered as a backdrop for 26 one of the weather reporter's backyard broadcasts in July. 27 Historical Date Recalled 28 The Councilmember then pointed out that June 13th had been the 29 feastday of St. Anthony of Padua after whom St. Anthony Village had 30 been named. 31 Residents Appreciative of Coldwell Banker Realty Patriotic Gesture 32 City office staff and Councilmembers had reported receiving calls 33 from residents who wanted to know who they could thank for placing 34 American flags all around the Village in the early hours that morning 35 in commemoration of Flag Day. Councilmember Enrooth indicated he had 36 directed the calls he had received to Jeanette Solie the local 37 Coldwell Banker representative. 38 Recycling Committee Recommendations Early in August 39 Councilmember Enrooth indicated that the task force members were 40 putting a lot of research and thought towards that recommendation 7 1 which he anticipated would include actions not being taken by the 2 City at this time. The Council liaison reported the task force had 3 decided to visit the Reuters plant in Eden Prairie where materials 4 don't have to be separated and aren't recycled per se, even though 5 Hennepin County hasn't yet included that facility in its grant 6 program because a market has not yet been found for the combustible 7 pellets which are the end product. Councilmember Ranallo agreed 8 that, from what he had heard about that operation at one of the 9 League conferences, the City might want to weigh the loss of grant 10 money for a few years against the problems other cities are 11 experiencing with material separation. 12 Council's Enthusiasm for City's 1990 "Back to Minnesota" Project 13 Growing 14 Councilmember Ranallo reported the League of Minnesota Cities 15 Conference the previous week had been a very good one which was 16 echoed by the other Councilmembers in attendance. Mayor Sundland 17 said his involvement in the Special Olympics at Macalaster College 18 had kept him from attending. 19 During the conference, Councilmember Ranallo reported he had learned 20 more about the above state observance, including the fact that the 21 state will fund 25% of project costs for cities who participate. He 22 said he had discussed his suggestion about a permanent band shell 23 for St. Anthony with some of the conferees who thought it was a good 24 idea. The Councilmember passed around a photo he had taken of a band 25 shell in Ashland, Wisconsin after which he suggested the St. Anthony 26 structure could be modeled. The City could start right now to look 27 for a local architect to design the shell and determine the figure 28 upon which fund raising efforts could be initiated. Councilmember 29 Ranallo perceived the groundbreaking and construction could be 30 scheduled for next summer with the formal dedication to be held on 31 the City's namesake's feastday, June 13, 1990. 32 The fact that he has promises for $2,000.00 towards the venture, 33 the Councilmember said, made him think there would be no problem 34 getting resident support and he was certain there were many residents 35 who would be willing to help with the construction under the Public 36 Works Director's supervision. 37 Mr. Childs indicated it was fortunate that the Boosters and City 38 staff were planning to redesign and relocate the ball diamonds and 39 hockey rinks this fall because he was certain space could be found 40 for the band shell in those plans. 41 Councilmember Makowske indicated she was "very excited" about the 42 whole idea, perceiving this would be a "wonderful opportunity for 43 pulling the residents together and building community spirit." 44 Councilmember Marks indicated he knew the two St. Anthony bands were 45 very enthusiastic about having their own band shell. He also said he J 1 knew there would be many more bands who would want to play here in 2 addition to the members of the John Philip Sousa Memorial band who 3 had told Councilmember Ranallo he could count on them to play here at 4 no cost. 5 Makowske Wants Citv's Historical Data to be Upgraded 6 The Councilmember suggested the above be done in conjunction with the 7 "Back to St. Anthony" theme through an historical society to include 8 two people she recently met, who, though they live in New Brighton 9 now, both grew up in St. Anthony and indicated they knew of 10 discrepancies in histories of the City which were published in the 11 past. The man Councilmember Makowske had talked to was the grandson 12 of the Mr. Pahl who had been a St. Anthony Mayor before the City was 13 incorporated. Mr. Childs said that he thought that there were 14 mayors going all the way back to the 1890's although St. Anthony 15 Village hadn't actually been incorporated as a Village until 1947. 16 Councilmember Marks liked the idea of having a 5 person historical 17 society established, saying he knew his wife, Florence, who had done 18 some historical research for the monument in the City's historical 19 cemetery, would love to serve on any historical committee which was 20 formed. 21 City Fireman Gives "Tremendous" TV Explanation of Reason for 22 Sprinkling Ban 23 His wife had seen the above interview of Dick Johnson of the St. 24 Anthony Fire Department, Councilmember Marks reported. He asked Mr. 25 Childs to convey both their congratulations on "a job well done." 26 Ranallo Reports on LMC Conference 27 San Antonio Mayor Henry Cisneros, who, though he mispronounced 28 "Ranallo" and was confused about just where St. Anthony was, gave an 29 excellent speech at the conference and certainly came well briefed 30 on Minnesota. 31 Councilmember Marks said he really appreciated what he perceived had 32 been a very good conference and the work which was put into it, 33 especially by Councilmember Ranallo. He reported on several seminars 34 he had attended, including the one on "How to Handle Employee 35 Dissatisfaction"; another "high powered presentation" on "How to be 36 a Champion" by Ramsey County Commissioner Salverda;David McNally's 37 report on Terry Fox, the Canadian boy with cancer who raised 38 $20,000,000.00 for cancer research; and the Standard and Poor's 39 representative's explanation of how they rate cities, which 40 considered not only the City's but the entire community's ability to 41 handle debt. 42 DEPARTMENTS AND COMMITTEES E� 1 The following were ordered filed after comments on several issues: 2 *Hance and LeVahn, Ltd. reports on matters they had prosecuted at 3 the Hennepin County District Court May 18th and June 1st; 4 Marks reported prosecutors had told him Judge Christensen 5 was actually considered "one of the toughest judges" when 6 it came to sentencing which their reports supported; 7 *May Liquor Sales Summary 8 Ranallo was assured staff is concerned about the drop in 9 sales for the Apache liquor warehouse operation which the 10 Liquor Manager perceives was strongly influenced by the price 11 wars among new liquor operations in nearby communities; 12 *May Fire Department Report 13 accepted without comment. 14 CITY MANAGER REPORTS 15 June 7 1988 Staff Meeting Notes 16 Mr. Childs said he had also heard rumors about companies who were 17 interested in locating in the vacant Mickey D's Restaurant building 18 despite the "atrociously high" rents Councilmember Ranallo said he 19 understood were being asked for the building. 20 Rieke Carroll Muller Status Report on City Projects Welcomed 21 The Councilmembers indicated they were very happy to learn from the 22 above that the Kenzie Terrace signal project was 90o complete and to 23 hear Mr. Childs say that the St. Anthony Boulevard reconstruction 24 project had advanced to the point where the curbing would be laid the 25 following week. 26 They were also pleased to learn that the carbon filtration plant 27 should be up and running early in July when, Mr. Childs said, 28 hopefully, all sprinkling restrictions could be dropped. 29 Contract for Well #3 Reactivation Project to be Awarded June 16th 30 Mr. Childs indicated he expected the bids for that project to be in 31 the office the following day and he requested the Council schedule a 32 short special meeting at 5:30 P.M., June 16th, to accept the bids and 33 award the contract for the project. He reiterated that staff expects 34 all costs would eventually be paid from the Superfund, but perceives 35 the City can't wait for that approval and would have to go ahead and 36 pay out the $15,000.00 now with the expectation of including those 10 1 costs in the water contamination suit settlement if Superfund payment 2 isn't forthcoming. 3 The meeting was approved to be held as he had recommended. 4 Manager Will Be on Vacation From June 22nd Until the 30th 5 Mr. Childs said he would be out of town during that period which 6 would include the Council's June 28th meeting. He said he was 7 attempting to make the agenda for that meeting very light. The 8 Manager indicated he hoped the Parkview agreement, which would not 9 require further Council approval, would also be ready for his 10 signature before he left. 11 Childs Gives Latest on Lang/Nelson' 12 Terrace Redevelopment Project 13 Mr. Childs reiterated that: 14 *as the Mayor had already reported, these prospective developers 15 are still looking for financing but in the meantime perceive a 16 need for larger apartment units which would require more land 17 than now available to the project; 18 *discussions are proceeding about the feasibility of acquiring a 19 small triangular parcel of unstriped parking area which the 20 City had always assumed belonged to the St. Anthony Village 21 Shopping Center but which actually belongs to Kraus Anderson as 22 part of the Town and Country Store property; 23 *Lang/Nelson has indicated that, if they can get a good enough 24 financial package together, they might not even bother with the 25 redevelopment bonds; 26 *staff is still meeting on a regular basis with other developers 27 who although they say they are very interested, haven't come up 28 with the money or commitment necessary to guarantee the project 29 would be completed. 30 NEW BUSINESS 31 Motion by Ranallo, seconded by Sundland to adopt the resolution which 32 authorizes signatures on all checks and drafts following the Finance 33 Director's retirement, June 30th. 34 RESOLUTION 88-022 35 A RESOLUTION APPROVING THE SIGNATURE OF THE MAYOR 36 AND THE CITY MANAGER ON ALL DRAFTS DRAWN 37 AGAINST DEPOSITS OF THE CITY OF 38 ST. ANTHONY, MINNESOTA 11 FI Notion carried unanimously_ 2 City to Pay $6,867.18 of Costs of Repairing 37th/Stinson Intersection 3 From MSA Allocation 4 Council Action 5 Motion by Marks, seconded by Ranallo to follow the recommendations of 6 the Public Works Director to authorize the execution of the joint 7 powers agreement with Columbia Heights to make the necessary repairs 8 to the intersection of Stinson Boulevard and 37th Avenue N.E. with 9 St. Anthony's share of the costs, $6,867.18, to come from the City's 10 MSA allocation. 11 12 13 Notion carried unanimously. 14 The decision to go with the Banyon Data Systems equipment was based 15 on information in Mr. Childs' June 10th memorandum in the agenda 16 packet and further information he gave during the discussions. 17 Councilmember Marks agreed that the system had an "incredible service 18 capability" and he anticipated that as time went on research would 19 provide more ways of using the computer at less cost. 20 Council Action 21 Motion by Ranallo, seconded by Marks to authorize the City Manager to 22 purchase the utility billing system which he had recommended from 23 Banyon Data. 24 Notion carried unanimously_ 25 City Not to Be Required to Pay License Fees for Its Own Activities 26 The Manager's June 10th recommendations were also accepted in the 27 following: 28 Council Action 29 Motion by Marks, seconded by Enrooth to approve the first reading of 30 Ordinance 1988-006. 31 ORDINANCE 1988-006 32 AN ORDINANCE RELATING TO LICENSING, EXEMPTING 33 THE CITY FROM LICENSING FEES AND REQUIREMENTS; 34 AMENDING SECTION 510:00 OF THE 1974 CODE OF ORDINANCES 35 Notion carried unanimously. 12 1 Dorothy Fleming to Represent St. Anthony on Ease Side Hennepin County 2 Human Services Advisory Committee 3 The above and Maurice D. Ruch, 3113 Townview Avenue N.E., had been 4 interviewed prior to the meeting. Because of Mr. Ruch's occupational 5 Safety and Health background, Mr. Childs indicated he was certain the 6 City could use his services in another capacity. 7 Council Action 8 Motion by Marks, seconded by Makowske to appoint Dorothy Fleming, 9 3101 Wendhurst Avenue N.E. to serve with Leanna McClanahan on the 10 above advisory committee. 11 IWA Notion carried unanimously. 13 Second Reading Given Ordinance Changing Zoning for the Proposed 14 Evergreen Townhouses Development Lane 15 Motion by Ranallo, seconded by Enrooth to approve the second reading 16 of Ordinance 1988-005. 17 ORDINANCE 1988-005 18 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE CITY ZONING MAP 19 20 21 Motion by Enrooth, seconded by Makowske to adjourn the meeting at 22 9:35 P.M. 23 24 Respectfully submitted, 25 Heleh Crgwe, 26 27 28 ATTEST: C iN �1 29 City Clerk 13 Notion carried unanimously.