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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC MINUTES 10271981 Meeting Sheet 100210 I VIII VIII VIII VIII VIII VIII IIII III BOK: 15 Folder: Document: CC MINUTES 10271981 CITY OF ST. ANTHONY COUNCIL MINUTES • October 27 , 1981 The meeting was called to order by Mayor Haik at 7 :30 P.M. Present for roll call: Marks , Sundland, Haik, Ranallo and Letourneau. Also present: Dave Childs , City Manager; Ron Berg, Administrative Assistant; Carol .Johnson, Clerk/Treasurer; Larry Hamer, Director of Public Works ; and Donald .Hickerson, Chief of Police. Motion _by Councilman Sundland- and seconded by .Councilman Marks to approve as submitted the minutes for the Council meeting held October 6 , 1981. Motion carried unanimously. Motion by Councilman Ranallo .and seconded by Councilman Letourneau to grant all licenses listed in the October 27, 1981 Council agenda. Motion carried unanimously. Motion by Councilman Sundland and seconded by Councilman Letourneau to approve payment of all verified claims listed in the October 27 , 1981 Council agenda. Motion carried unanimously. Motion by Councilman Ranallo and seconded by Councilman Sundland to approve payment of $895 .14 to Planning Design & Research Engineers , Inc. for the infiltration/inflow analysis . Motion carried unanimously. motion by Councilman Letourneau and seconded by Councilman Ranallo to approve payment of $2 ,257 to the Dorsey firm for legal services in July, 1981. Motion carried unanimously. Theresa Stewart of the AAA Auto Club presented a plaque for Pedestrian_ Safety Achievement for St. Anthony to the Mayor, commenting that the City' s record twenty years without a pedestrian. fatality was, as far as she knew, the best record in the state.. Mayor Haik, in turn, presented the plaque to Chief Hickerson, saying she knew the speed control his department exercises is responsible for the honor. Accepted as informational were the .September Fire Department report; the Chemical Abuse Information Committee minutes for their September 22nd meeting; and Chief Hickerson' s report of. his attendance at the Conference of International Chiefs of Police in New Orleans. -2- The Mayor .reported there had been a disappointing turnout for the League of Women Voters' seminar on Chemical Awareness for Responsible Decisions held in the City Hall, October 25th. However, it was noted there had been a large turnout of parents for the similar seminar sponsored by the Middle School and chemical awareness programs are being held at St. Charles Borromeo and by the Kiwanis Club. Senator Ashbach'.s call to Mr. Childs regarding the City' s redistrict- ing options was reported in the minutes of the City staff meeting held October 22nd and the Manager said the Senator was interested in finding out if St. Anthony would rather be included with a Minne- apolis or St. Paul district or with the suburban districts. .The- staff had indicated they believed- the City should be included with the suburban districts, which would be the choice of a majority of the Council, if the existing subdivision of the City between Ramsey and Hennepin Counties could be eliminated with redistricting. Councilmen Ranallo and Marks indicated they preferred staying with Minneapolis , if the County split remains . Mayor Haik believed the-. City has many common interests with the St. Paul suburbs . Councilman Sundland agreed, but emphasized he would rather stay with the City of Minneapolis than to be put into a district with the City of St. Paul. Brad Bjorklund, Chairman of the Planning Commission reported recom- mendations- to the Council and staff from the Commission, as reflected in the minutes of their meeting, October 20th. He read the Commission recommendation that the City draw upon the Letter of Credit, which guarantees performance of all landscaping, parking, fencing, and • signage plans submitted when the Craig & Company shop was approved under the Hedlund PUD, if those projects are not completed, as agreed to, by November 30., 1981. Mr. Berg presented a color rendering of the plans and said he had seen for himself, that day, that Mr. Morris - has purchased shrubbery which is partially installed. The fence is not in, and- Mr. Berg said he is not qualified to judge whether Mr.. Morris is correct in his contention that building the fence between his lot and that to the east owned by Kenneth Lee before the grade is corrected may cause a drainage problem for Mr. Lee when he builds his new home on that site. Mr. Morris reiterated that he believes it "will be much more sensible" to install the fence after the property to the north on which Sid Johnson is con- structing townhomes and Mr. Lee 's lot have been graded. He added, since his property is so much higher than the homes on Penrod, a six foot fence will probably be ineffective for screening those homes from the commercial usage on his property. Mr. Lee was present and said he had requested Sid Johnson to draw up plans for the home he proposes to build on his lot but he. could . give no firm date for that construction. The Mayor indicated she would not be interested in laying the matter over without some assurance that the grading would be done in the next few weeks. Mr. Bjorklund said the Commission had taken into consideration the fact that extending the Letter of Credit would be a complicated process and had questions as well regarding the City' s responsibilities related to fence and landscaping installations if. the $3 ,200 Letter of Credit is withdrawn. The question regarding drainage had been raised too late for him to make an inspection, Mr. Hamer said, but -3- he should be able to report back .to the Council before their next meeting. The Mayor saw the two weekperiod as sufficient time for Mr. Lee, Mr. Johnson..and Mr. Morris to come to some agreement regard- ing the grading so the fence can -be installed before November 30-th . She added that the fence. had been promised to the residents on Penrod as a deterrent for foot traffic to the commercial district. When she mentioned that Mr. Morris had almost a year to comply with the improvements he had agreed .would be made, the owner of Craig & Company replied that all the shrubbery would be in before November 30th and that he had saved 70 percent of its cost by -waiting until fall to purchase the plants . He also said he did not consider it fair to make him install the fence twice. Motion by Councilman Marks and seconded by Councilman Ranallo to table until the Council meeting November 10th, further action on the Planning Commission recommendations ,regarding withdrawal of the Letter of Credit, November 30th, if the landscaping and fencing agreed to under the Hedlund PUD are not completed. Motion carried unanimously. The Chairman next reported on matters pending before the Commission, including the rezoning of .the Clark station property; the final platting of the Johnson townhome court; proliferation of signage at the Champion Auto store across Stinson in Minneapolis , as well as the time frame for conformance with landscaping plans developed when the Happy Potato- Chip -plant addition was approved. He also • cited what he believes are "enforcement problems" with the truck advertising for the Country Store, ; failure to keep promises to clean up the grounds around the upholstery shop on Kenzie Terrace, and the presence of what appears to be an abandoned bus across from Sroga' s station, also on Kenzie Terrace. Mr. Berg reported he has contacted the service station owner regard- ing the abandoned vehicle and the proprietor of the upholstery shop as well as the property owner, Max Saliterman, regarding that property 's condition. He has also informed Red Owl officials that truck advertising is not permitted,. either as temporary or permanent signage under City ordinances . Councilman Ranallo wanted the Police Department to .document whether it is the same truck that is parked on the site and whether it is ever moved. Mrs. Childs pointed out that the truck is lettered only on one side . It was noted that interviews for openings on the Commission will be held in January rather than December,. as reported in the Commission minutes . Mayor Haik thanked Mr. Bjorklund for his report and said she believes Commission support for enforcement of City ordinances is very important. Motion by Councilman Marks and seconded by Councilman Letourneau to schedule a special Council meeting to certify the election results for 9 : 00 P.M. , November 3, 1981. Motion carried unanimously. -4- The Manager distributed copies of the postcard informing residents of the availability of housing rehabilitation grants from HUD, which will go out to the community within a week. . He also reported a meeting of staff to develop a "disaster plan" in response to the recent announcement that state aids will be drastically cut. ' A cut of .$30 ,000 had .previously been expected, but it now appears . that the anticipated City allocation of $250 ,000 could possibly be cut in half or even completely, with a resultant loss of 20% of the City budget due to the latter. Staff is to report back cuts they see possible in services , repairs and purchases which had been budgeted for 1982 , according to Mr. Childs . He added, that since the League of Cities has to date taken no position regarding the cuts and he believes the City's legislators should. be contacted at once to express the City' s opposition to shifting the burden of raising taxes to offset the cuts entirely to the cities . In his October 23rd memorandum, Mr. Berg had advised the Council that during his review of the final plat for the proposed town- house development under the Hudlund .PUD, the City Attorney had discovered Mr. Hedlund had dedicated- 10 feet along Silver Lake Road to Ramsey County in 1978 which will now create a density problem for the number of units which can be built. by Sid Johnson under the ordinance requirements for that site. Conflicting responses from county officials regarding the need for this ease- ment were, cited, with one . official saying the easement can be returned since . Silver Lake Road has probably been built as wide as it ever will be and another saying the easement is needed for • snow storage. Mr. Hamer noted the consistency of setbacks maintained along the roadway by the County and estimated the .chances of the road being widened to be "minute" . Mr.. Bjorklund consulted with two other Commission members , Mr. Enrooth and Mrs. . Makowske ,. who were also in attendance, and reported that, although they would not oppose a variance being granted .for the project as-.proposed, they strongly urged the Council not to abandon its effor.ts to get the easement back , perhaps by citing the Metropolitan Council ' s- transportation policy that "when land held by a government entity is not going to be utilized for the purpose it was taken , it should be returned for development by the private sector" . Mayor Haik said she would be willing to pursue possible retrieving of the easement, but in the meantime believes the Council will not be adverse to granting the necessary variance, following a public hearing. In the interim, she agreed with Mr. Berg that a- building permit for the .five units which will not be affected by the easement should be granted so construction on the projectwill not be delayed. Mr. Johnson was present but - did ut .did not speak. Motion by Councilman Marks and seconded by Councilman Sundland to grant a building permit to. Sid Johnson to construct the first five units as proposed for the St. Anthony Court, and to refer the variance .necessary to complete the project to a public hearing. Motion carried unanimously. -5- Motion by . Councilman Sundland and seconded- by Councilman Ranallo to approve the first reading of the ordinance amendment which will • allow the Police Department to regulate traffic on shopping center property. ORDINANCE 1981-011 AN ORDINANCE RELATING TO TRAFFIC REGULATION ON SEMI-PUBLIC PROPERTY; AMENDING SECTION 700 :00, SUBD . 4 OF SECTION 710 :00, SECTION 715 :00 AND SECTION 1.400 OF THE 1973 CODE OF ST. ANTHONY ORDINANCES Motion carried unanimously. Motion by Councilman Sundland and seconded by Councilman Ranallo to adopt. Resolution 81-070 . RESOLUTION 81-070 A RESOLUTION ADOPTING A COMPREHENSIVE SANITARY SEWER PLAN FOR THE CITY OF ST. ANTHONY Motion carried unanimously. When .Councilman Ranallo inquired whether the County' s bill for providing winter maintenance on Silver Lane will be increased this year, Mr.. Childs told him that, at first, the County had indicated they were going to maintain the street themselves and only after receiving numerous calls from residents. on that street opposing •. that plan, did the County officials indicate a willingness to sign the agreement with the City for the service, "if they can get the money" . Motion by Councilman Letourneau and seconded by Councilman Ranallo to . adopt Resolution 81-071 , assuming the money will be available to Ramsey County to- pay for the services. RESOLUTION 81-071 A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR AND CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE THE AGREEMENT BETWEEN RAMSEY COUNTY AND THE CITY OF ST. ANTHONY FOR WINTER ROAD MAINTENANCE SERVICES Motion carried. unanimously. The Manager had included the Ehlers and Company computer services proposal in the agenda packet, and explained the term "Defeasance Bonds" , saying he believes these. services might prove helpful when the City considers bonding for proposed street improvements . He added, however, that the state funding uncertainties have caused him to slow upon work on that project. Councilman Ranallo reported County Commissioner Sivanich has told • him the City library services will not be reduced as proposed when the County budget was first submitted. -6- Mr. Hamer...told Councilman Marks it is true that at times the. Police Department is unable to communicate with other enforcement agencies . • He said. addi.tional equipment is needed for the antenna being constructed in the City to become operational. Motion by Councilman Marks and- seconded by Councilman Ranallo to adjourn the meeting at 8:35 P.M. Motion carried unanimously. Respectfully submitted, Helen Crowe Secretary Mayor 6/17 ATTEST: City Clerk •