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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC MINUTES 05251976CITY OF ST. ANTHONY COUNCIL MINUTFS May 25,1976 The meeting was called to order by Mayor Miedtke at 7:34 P.M. Present for roll call: Sundland, Haik, Miedtke, Stauffer, Sauer Also present: Jerry Dulgar, City Manager TIm. Soth, City Attorney Jim Fornell, Adm. Asst. I.C. Comstock, City Engineer The minutes for the May 11, 1976 Council meeting were corrected as follows: Page 2, para. 5: Substitute "....proceeding so that the project might possibly be completed during the construction season" for "....assuring that the project would be completed" Page 5, para. 1: Identify the "civic organizations" as the Gardenettes and Lions Club. Page 4: Substitute "anticipated" for "could be received" in reference to the Community Development Grant Funds. Motion by Councilman Sauer, seconded by Councilman Haik to approve the minutes of May 11th as corrected. Motion carried unanimously. The Manager said that Mrs. Florence Marks had. requested that the minutes of the April 13, 1976 Council meeting be clarified to indicate that one of the gravemarkers in the old St. Anthony cemetery was for the first person buried there, Elizabeth Stone, whose husband set the property aside as a cemetery in 1853. Motion by Councilman Sundland, seconded by Councilman Stauffer to approve the correction of the April 13th Council minutes. Motion carried unanimously. The Addendum to the Agenda for May 25th was added and numbered #7B. Richard Rymarchick presented the recommendations to the Council which had been made by the Planning Board at their May 18, 1976 meeting. No one was present to present the Erpelding request for a temporary screened enclosure at 2550 Kenzie Terrace. Noting that the setbacks for the requested enclosures did not conform to the R-1 zoning for that property and having received no further details of the request, the Council made the following decision. Page 2 Motion by Councilman Sauer, seconded by Councilman Haik to follow the recommendations of the Planning Board to deny the Erpelding request for a temporary enclosure to hcuse plants during the summer at 2550 Kenzie Terrace. Motion carried unanimously. Mr. Loyd Bergman, attorney for the fee owner, Mrs. Ina Rurman, presented a revised plan for replatting Lots 1, 2 and 3, Block 8, Murray Heights Addition into two lots of which Lot 2 will be sold to the W.W. Johnson Meat Company. He explained that the plans had been modified even more than had been suggested by the Planning Board in order that the Johnson Company would be assured of un- hindered use of the driveway onto Kenzie Terrace. He said Standard Oil would be provided a pumping easement so that they may continue to have their storage tanks filled once a week. The two Johnson brothers and their attorney were present and the latter told the Council that Standard does not now and have not parked in the area north of the meatmarket for the past four years. The Mayor said it would be up to the Police Department to enforce the two hour parking restrictions on 27th Avenue if cars being serviced by Standard are parked there and said although he was con- cerned that the garage is only 2 feet from the property line he felt the new plan was an improvement since at least the building would be situated on one lot where it had been straddling two under the existing platting. Motion by Councilman Sauer, seconded by Councilman Stauffer to approve the preliminary plat for Lot 1 and 2, Block 8, Murray Height:. 3rd Addition with the division line positioned as presented and subject to the platting ordinance and final approval of the City Attorney. Motion carried unanimously. Mr. Rymarchick then gave the formal verbal recommendation that the Planning Board review the entire Shopping Center area and return to the Council with a study including suggestions from the present lessees on how the area can be revitalized with the Board's recomm- endation of action to be taken. Motion by Councilman Haik, seconded by Councilman Sundland to give the Planning Board the directive to go ahead with their study of the St. Anthony Shopping Center and to return with their recommend- ations regarding the possibility of declaring the entire commercial area as a redevelopment area when their study is complete. Motion carried unanimously. When the Planning Board representative discussed the request foc a change in the signage for Poppin Fresh at 3701 Stinson Boulevard, the Mayor said the present sign had resulted from a compromise with the company who had originally requested a pylon identification sign when the pie shop had been constructed. No one appeared to make a presentation for the request so the following motion was made: Page 3 Motion by Councilman Sauer, seconded by Councilman IIaik to table action on the Poppin Fresh sign. Motion carried unanimously. Mr. Richard Ernst, 2841 Johnson St. N.E. again presented his re- quest for a change in zoning which would allow him to construct the two story building designed for professional offices and retail shops on the land between the G & G Body Shop and the Legion Club on Kenzie Terrace. He said he had delayed his request for the new zoning ordinance but was unable to wait any longer since he wanted to construct the building this summer. Minutes for the public hearing on the proposal conducted by the Planning Board on January 20, 1976 were considered in the discussion. Mr. Ernst presented the site plans including the parking and land- scaping for the 8,000 sq. ft. building which he said would be 80 feet long and 50 feet wide. He said he had two dentists for the upper floor offices and a chiropractor and interior decorating firm who were interested in space in the ground level. He told the Council that although he had a tenant in another of his develop:P ments who had expressed an interest in relocating his barbecue take out service in this building he felt he could easily fill the building with tenants who would be more acceptable to the Council and the neighboring residents. However, the contractor said the proposal would require a change in zoning from the existing P.-1 (residential) to C-2 under the new zoning ordinance to allow the retail shops he anticipated as tenants for the lower level. Marinus W. Van Putten, Jr, 4040 IDS Center, who said he represent- ed the fee owners of the property, St. Anthony, Minneapolis, Inc., cited the commercial complexion of the area and said he felt the residential zoning for a portion of the parcel had been a mistake. He said his clients would be willing to put a private restriction on the title which would insure that the property could not be used for a restaurant or a gas station which had been mentioned as an allowable usage under the com.ercial zoning. Noting the attractiveness of the proposal as presented, especially its conformance to the requirements of the new zoning ordinance for landscaping, parking and setbacks and considering the proposal a desirable buffer between the shopping center and the residential area to the west, the Council made the following motion - Motion by Councilman Sauer, seconded by Councilman Sundland to approve the change in zoning for Plat 63507, Parcel 7620 from R-1 to Commercial to permit the construction of the two story building presented by Richard Ernst representing Bryant Investment, subject to a restrictive covenant prohibiting use of the property for a restaurant or carry out food service. Motion carried unanimously. vir. Ernst then said the security fencing suggested by Mr. Dulgar would probably be advisable especially since it would also allevi- ate the concerns expressed by the residents who lived nearby. Page 4 Motion by Councilman Sauer, seconded by Councilman Haik to change the date for the Public Hearing on the 29th Avenue Improvement Project from June 8th to 8:00 P.M. Thursday, June 17th, 1976 when the bids could be accepted and the contracts awarded for the project. The change was necessitated by time requirements for advertising for such bids which could not have been met by June 8th. Mr. Dulgar asked the Council for guidance on the application of the assessment policy and determination of the benefited prop- erties on 29th and the Council decided to wait until they could review the City's Assessment Policy and set June 8th as the date on which the discussion could be continued. Mr. Jack Lawrance of Signcrafters Outdoor Display, Inc. arrived at 8:40 P.M. and discussed the request for a new monumental type sign for Poppin Fresh which he had made at the last Planning Board meeting. Mr. Rymarchick said the Board had felt a sign 6 feet high was consistent with other signage in the City but said they were not aware that the existing sign was 7 foot 6 inches tall. Mr. Lawrance said the new sign was needed to identify Poppin Fresh as a restaurant and he wanted the variance to the sign ordinance continued with an additional 18 inches of signage allowed to accomodate the logo which now identifies almost all Poppin Fresh restaurants throughout the nation. The square footage of the present sign would not be exceeded and the signage of 133 sq. ft. now on the building itself would be cut down and made more attract- ive. Motion by Councilman Sauer, seconded by Councilman Stauffer to grant a variance to the sign ordinance to Poppin Fresh to allow a monumental sign at 3701 Stinson Boulevard which would be six feet wide but would be increased in height from the existing height of 7 feet 6 inches above grade unless the leaf on the logo cannot be placed on the side. Motion carried unanimously. Motion by Councilman Sundland, seconded by Councilman Stauffer to follow the recommendation of the Manager to authorize the Metro- politan Area Management Association to negotiate both salary and master contract language with I X.O.E., Local No. 49 for the City of St. Anthony for 1977. Motion carried unanimously. Motion by Councilman Stauffer, seconded by Councilman Sauer to approve the minutes for the Board of Review held May 18, 1976. Motion carried unanimously. Motion by Councilman Sundland, seconded by Councilman Haik to table action on an ordinance dealing with the landing of heli- copters in the City until a need for such an ordinance has aris^n. Motion by Stauffer, seconded by Haik to change date Board of Review is to be reconvened to June 1, at 7:30 P.M. in compliance with instructions from the Hennepin County Assessor's Office. Page 5 Motion carried unanimously. Since the Superintendent of Independent District #282 is research- ing regulations regarding school dances set by other school dist- ricts and the Community Services Committee has been working on rules to govern such events the following motion was made in r( -sponse to the request from the Police Department for an ordinance dealing with public dances: Motion by Councilman Sauer, seconded by Councilman Stauffer to table indefinitely any action regarding a dance ordinance. Motion carried unanimously. Mayor Miedtke gave the reasons he felt Mayor Gayle Bromander of New Brighton should be reimbursed for the cost of the trousers he had torn while participating in a City celebration. Councilman Sauer said he understood Mayor Bromander intended donating any such funds towards the St. Anthony High School Marching Band's Hawaiian trip. Motion by Mayor Miedtke, seconded by Councilman Stauffer to author- ize a payment of $20.00 to the High School Marching Band fund in the name of Mayor Bromander of New Brighton and to direct that a letter of thanks be sent to Mayor Bromander from the Council with a copy sent to the band. Voting on the motion? Aye: Sauer, Stauffer, Miedtke, Sundland Nay: Haik Motion carried. The legislative policy of the League of Minnesota was discussed. Motion by Councilman Sundland, seconded by Councilman Haik to designate Councilman Sauer as the City's voting delegate and any other member of the Council who will be attending as alternates to the League of Minnesota Municipalities Conference in Duluth. Motion carried unanimously. The letter from the Metropolitan Waste Commission explaining why the City's bill will increase $17,538.52 was discussed with the City Engineer. Councilman Haik and Stauffer expressed an interest in finding out what comparable problems other communities had experienced during the heavy downpours last spring which caused the sharp increase in the amount of sewage which the City had to send to be treated. Councilman Sundland was absent from the meeting 9:15 to 9:17 P.M. Mr. Comstock commented on the report from the Sewer Study Committee which had been referred for his evaluation and Mr. Dulgar corrected the reference to this action in the agenda saying consideration would only be given to the committee's recofimendation for the replacement of the 29th Avenue sewer line and no decision had yet been made in this regard. In fact, Mr. Comstock said there had been no definite evidence presented to justify such an action. He said that while replacing the line from Ruzel.le to Coolidge was part of the rebuilding project for 29th, the .Line from Coolidge to Stinson at a cost of $8,600.00 was not proposed to be replaced and if it were done so would cosi: $17,200..00 fok the 10 inch line. If the size of sewer line were increased for the entire project with a 12 inch line, the cost would be $21,250.00 and if a 15 inch line were used would be $29,500.00. Since there is no eviden- ce to show where any of these replacements would correct the backup problems which had been experienced along 29th last year such an action might later be criticized as an unnecessary expenditure. Mr. James Datta, a member of the Sewer Study Committee, said the committee had recommended the replacement of the entire line be- cause they were afraid the street would have to be torn up later if it should be proved that the size of the line was insufficient:. Mr. Dulgar said that even if the line should have to be replaced there would be other methods of doing so without tearing up the street. He also disagreed that the flooding experienced by resi- dents was all a backup of the sanitary sewer lines because of the clearness of the water he had seen in many basements. In discussing the short range solutions suggested by the Committee, the Engineer said that Minneapolis would be able to handle some of the City's overflow in an emergency or a permanent arrangement could be made with them but Roseville had told him they could only handle the normal flow and the sewer line to the arsenal was not a viable solution because the line was owned by the federal government who had refused to let any community use it in the past. Mr. Comstock commended the committee for their fine job on the report which he felt would be very helpful in assessing the City's sewer system for improvements. He told of an independent group of engineers who specialize in sewer system evaluations who the City might employ to make a smoke analysis of the sewer system at a cost of between $20,000.00 to $30,000.00 saying they might r:ieet the requirements of the committee's recommendation for such an analysis. He said that the committee's premise that the difficulties ex- perienced by some homeowners with backup water last spring should be considered a city-wide problem for city-wide solution seemed to call for a political rather than an engineering decision but said there might be some conflict with the Comprehensive Report pre- pared for the Metro Waste Commission which doesn't allow for tie diversion of residential drain tile through the sanitary system for treatment. He also felt that the committee should not have been influenced by the proposed EPA program guide u-hich had never bee;: accepted by EPA and had never been intended for publication. The Council felt that without concrete evidence that a larger sewer line would solve the backup problems, there could be no justification for replacing the line from Coolidge to Stinson but it was agreed that if such evidence should be presented before she street is replaced their decision could be reversed by change order. Page 7 Motion by Mayor Miedtke, seconded by Councilman Stauffer to direct the City Engineer to go ahead with the installation of the sewer line along 29th which had been in his original proposal. Motion carried unanimously. The meeting was recessed at 10:45 P.M. and reconvened at 11:00 P.M. when Mr. Comstock reported that Hennepin County had objected to the manner in which 29th Avenue is being reconstructed es- pecially in regard to the plans for the intersection of Silver Lake Road. The Council took no action on the matter at this time. Mr. Comstock then explained his firm's bill for engineering and consulting services on 29th Avenue on which payment had been tabled the last meeting. Motion by Councilman Sundland, seconded by Councilman Haik to approve payment of $ $21,328.25 to Comstock & Davis for engineering services on 29th Avenue TmprovementProject from November, 1975 thru April 24, 1976. Motion carried unanimously. Motion by Councilman Stauffer, seconded by Councilman Haik to authorize the transfer from the Council's Contingency Fund the amounts of $150.00 per person to cover the cost of uniforms for City office employees. Motion carried unanimously. Plans were made for the June 18th Council/School Board outing Motion by Councilman Sauer, seconded by Councilman Stauffer to pay all verified claims listed in the May 25, 1976 agenda. Motion carried unanimously. Motion by Councilman Stauffer, seconded by Councilman Haik to grant vending licenses to the Lance Company at Pennys & St. Anthony Lanes. Motion carried unanimously. Councilman Stauffer and Mayor Miedtke reported on the annual meeting of the Association of Metropolitan Municipalities. Motion by Councilman Sauer, seconded by Councilman Sundland to authorise that a letter of thanks be sent to members of the Sewer Study Committee for the tremendous job they did on the study. Motion carried unanimously. Motion by Councilman Sauer, seconded by Councilman Haik to Page 8 appoint Jerry Dulgar to serve as delegate and Jim Fornell as alternate to the Hennepin County Emergency Communications Organization. Motion carried unanimously. Motion by Councilman Sundland, seconded by Councilman Haik to adjourn the meeting at 11°,40 P.M. Motion carried unanimously. ATTEST-. 6t,.w i Clerk