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CITY OF ST. ANTHONY
CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MINUTES
DECEMBER 23, 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 Gray, Jenson, Roth, and Stille.
Absent: None.
Also Present: City Manager Mark Casey and Finance Director Shelly Rueckert
Guests: Mr. Jay Lindgren, City Attorney (Dorsey & Whitney)
CONSIDERATION, DISCUSSION, AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON ALL OF THE FOLLOWING
ITEMS.
I. APPROVAL OF DECEMBER 23, 2014 CITY COUNCIL MEETING AGENDA.
Motion by Councilmember Gray, seconded by Councilmember Jenson, to approve the City
Council Meeting Agenda of December 23, 2014.
Motion carried unanimously.
II. PROCLAMATIONS AND RECOGNITIONS — NONE.
III. CONSENT AGENDA.
A. Consider December 9, 2014, Council meeting minutes;
B. Consider licenses and permits: and,
C. Consider payment of claims.
Motion by Councilmember Gray, seconded by Councilmember Jenson, to approve the Consent
Agenda items.
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V. REPORTS FROM COMMISSION AND STAFF - NONE.
Motion carried unanimously.
City Council Regular Meeting Minutes
December 23, 2014
Page 2
VI. GENERAL BUSINESS OF COUNCIL.
A. Resolution 14-088: a resolution aDmovine the Consent Order in the Federal Court Matter
Captioned United States of America v. City of Saint Anthony Village, Minnesota and the
Contingent Settlement Agreement in the Federal Court Matters Captioned Abu-Huraira
Islamic Center and the Muxamedrashid Ali v. City of St. Anthony. Jay Lindgren, Dorsey
& Whitney will be presenting
9 Mr. Jay Lindgren, Dorsey & Whitney advised that the resolution would approve the execution of
10 two documents this evening and approval of these two documents would resolve three lawsuits.
11 He stated this has always been a land use issue. Mr. Lindgren reviewed the provisions of the
12 documents. He noted the normal process for the PUD will be followed and the PUD will go
13 before the Council on February 10, 2015 for final approval. If the PUD is approved, then the
14 provisions would become part of the PUD. There would be a training session for the Council and
15 the Planning Commission on the requirements of RLUIPA. The agreement with the DOJ runs for
16 three years requiring compliance with RLUIPA. There would be a payment of $200,000 that
17 would pay for the plaintiff's attorney fees due from the City.
18
19 Councilmember Stille asked about the activities that would be held in the center and if religious
20 training would be considered a school. Mr. Lindgren stated it would not be classified as a
21 school. Councilmember Stille asked if this is the first step in the agreement and the PUD would
22 be upcoming. Mr. Lindgren stated this would be considered a contingency.
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24 Mr. Todd Guerreo, attorney for the Abu-Huraira, stated he concurs with the City Attorney's
25 review and appreciates the Council's consideration and diligence during the conference. This
26 was a compromise on the part of all parties.
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28 Mr. Sadik Warfa, Abu-Huraira Islamic Center, said he is very happy with the Mayor's leadership
29 and e is in support of the proposal before the Council for consideration this evening. He felt it
30 was a win-win for all.
31
32 Motion by Councilmember Gray, seconded by Councilmember Jenson, to adopt Resolution 14-
33 088: a resolution approving the Consent Order in the Federal Court Matter Captioned United
34 States of America v. City of Saint Anthony Village, Minnesota and the Contingent Settlement
35 Agreement in the Federal Court Matters Captioned Abu-Huraira Islamic Center and the
36 Muxamedrashid Ali v. City of St. Anthony.
37
38 Councilmember Gray stated it is never all right to discriminate against anyone for their religion.
39 He noted this has always been a land use issue but hit the press and became something it was not.
40 Councilmember Gray stated this is a good solution that he fully supports and welcomed them
41 into the community.
42
43 Councilmember Stille stated since the City was incorporated in 1945, many land use issues have
44 come before the Council. There were never plans to have religious activities in an industrial area.
45 He stated to fight this case would be very costly without a known outcome so he reluctantly
City Council Regular Meeting Minutes
December 23, 2014
Page 3
supports the resolution. Councilmember Stille encouraged the community to welcome the Center
to St. Anthony Village, noting the City will provide respect to the new neighbors.
Councilmember Roth stated his initial position was he would not support this. He noted he had
supported this the first time around and encouraged two other councilmembers to join him in the
vote. He stated the City did violate RLUIPA and will support it at this time.
8 Councilmember Jenson stated his original vote on this was that it was a land use issue and he
9 will support approval of the resolution.
10
11 Mayor Faust stated this is a good time to welcome our new neighbors and the lack of
12 understanding should not cause us to have fear in our hearts or reject them. He noted that
13 everyone has the freedom to worship their God and practice the freedoms we have. Mayor Faust
14 welcomed the Center to St. Anthony on behalf of the Council and the City.
15
16 Motion carried unanimously.
17
18 B. Review Effect of Tiered -Water Rates on Conservation.
19
20 Finance Director Shelly Ruechert reviewed the City's 2014 Strategic plan includes seven broad
21 goals for which actions steps are developed each year. An action step supporting the goal `Build
22 and Cultivate Environmental Responsibility" was a review of the effect of tiered water rates on
23 conservation. Staff has completed a review of residential water consumption in years preceding
24 and following the implementation of tiered rates. The review process was as follows:
25 • Isolated periods of time where peak residential use occurs.
26 • Isolated the extreme water usage accounts.
27 • Tracked the historical water consumption by account during both peak and non -peak
28 periods for various consumption levels.
29 • Compared rainfall impact on water consumption levels within peak periods.
30 • Determined change in water usage by groups/periods before and after tiered rate
31 implementation.
32
33 Ms. Rueckert reviewed the review process yielded the following results:
34 • Extreme water users reduced their consumption by usage subsequent to the
35 implementation of tiered rates.
36 o 25.19% for peak period (July — Sept)
37 o 35.41% for spring/summer (April —Sept)
38 o 0.05% for winter usage (Oct — Mar)
39 • Single-family residential users as a group reduced their usage subsequent to tiered rate
40 implementation by 13.72%. This reduction equated to a savings of over 99 million
41 gallons in a three-year period.
42 • Median quarterly usage was reduced from 15,740 in 2008 to 12,976 in 2013.
43 • Mean quarterly usage was reduced from 17,490 in 2008 to 14,800 in 2013.
44 . Water consumption by all customer types was reduced by 13.81%, producing a total
45 savings of over 131 million gallons.
46
City Council Regular Meeting Minutes
December 23, 2014
Page 4
El
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Staff expanded its review to include the Street Reconstruction program's impact on reducing
Inflow and Infiltration. As the City replaces wastewater lines, it significantly reduces ground
water entering the collection system through cracks in aged clay pipes. This process combined
with the lower consumption usage above has led to reduce wastewater flows over the course of
time. Ms. Rueckert referred to Exhibits E and F and stated the graph relates ground water
pumped to metered wastewater entering the treatment system, with and without rainfall data.
These illustrations suggest that beginning in the early 2000's the replacement of aged lines
started to impact annual metered flow. Wastewater flows have gone high of 118% of ground
water pumped (1992) to a low 73% (2009). This result validates one of the varied needs being
addressed by the Street Reconstruction program.
Ms. Rueckert reviewed a PowerPoint presentation.
Councilmember Stille stated this is very interesting and encouraged residents to speak with Ms.
Rueckert regarding details. He requested staff create an additional column to future reports
showing a three-year rolling average and the percentage difference.
Mayor Faust questioned the slide on wastewater and groundwater. Ms. Rueckert stated this could
include sump pump drains, roof drains, or runoffs.
Councilmember Roth stated he finds it interesting but also disappointing. He thought the winter
usage would have been less with water -saving appliances, etc.
Councilmember Jenson referred to the Water Pumped compared to Metered Flow data and asked
what happened in 2001-2002. Ms. Rueckert stated there was more rainfall in 2001-2002 and road
construction also has an effect to make the sewer system tighter.
Councilmember Stille asked if this information will be shared with the Met Council. Ms.
Rueckert stated she shared it with the City Engineer.
Mayor Faust stated this will help the City's position in obtaining the INI Grants. He noted
consumption has gone down even without a lot of communication to residents on a Citywide
basis so added communication and education could help to further reduce consumption.
REPORTS FROM CITY MANAGER AND COUNCIL MEMBERS.
City Manager Casey thanked the Police Department for the annual Shop with a Cop program and
the Fire Department for Santa on a Fire Truck. He reported that GPS tracking was used with very
frequent updates and over 600 people used the website. City Manager Casey announced that
City Hall will be closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day but the Police Department will be
open.
Councilmember Stille - no report.
Councilmember Gray - no report.
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City Council Regular Meeting Minutes
December 23, 2014
Page 5
Councilmember Jenson reported stated he attended a meeting for the History Committee.
Mayor Faust reported on his attendance at the following events:
• December 15 meeting with Lauderdale and Falcon Heights and approved a 5 -year
contract with the City of St. Anthony Village.
• December 17 meeting with CTV for a presentation by CenturyLink.
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.
A listing of Future Council Agenda Items was distributed for Council review.
X. ADJOURNMENT.
Mayor Faust adjourned the meeting at 7:50 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Debbie Wolfe
TimeSaver Off Site Secretarial, Inc.
Mayor
ATTEST:
City Clerk