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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC MINUTES 06281983 Meeting Sheet 101967 Box: 21 Folder: CC'MINUTES AND AGENDAS 1983 Document: CC MINUTES 06281983 —� CITY OF ST. ANTHONY COUNCIL MINUTES ' ;• June -28, 1983 The meeting was opened at 7 : 30 P.M. with the Pledge of Allegiance led by' Mayor Sundland. Present for roll call : Marks , Ranallo, Sundland, Letourneau, and Enrooth. Also present: David Childs, City Manager. At 7: 31 P.M. the Mayor opened the public hearing to receive a report on temporary water supply alternatives for the City 's water system which had been scheduled to precede another public meeting to be conducted in another room in the Parkview building by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. Participating in the presentation -of . the report were. Steve Lee and Sue Brustman of the MPCA; Karen Valdgogel, the U.S . Environmental Protection Agency representative from Chicago; and Robert D. Schilling and Tom Card of CH2M Hill Consultants, Bellevue,. Washington,., whose engineering firm had been retained to prepare, a temporary drinking water feasibility study conducted under the federal EPA'.s "Superfund" and to recommend alternatives for temporarily providing safe drinking water- for the City of St. Anthony in the event the contamination now present in trace amounts in the City wells should increase -to levels beyond government ;• human health guidelines . About a. -dozen other persons were present for the report. Mr. Lee indicated that, although there is convincing evidence that the volatile organic hydrocarbons now present. in the City ' s water supply had originated from the Twin City Arsenal in Fridley, there is no definite proof that the arsenal is the only source of contamination and in order to determine just which party and/or parties should be held accountable for cleaning up the contamination and providing clean drinking water for the affected communities, it would be necessary for a two year study of the area' s water production system to be undertaken. The MPCA representative assured those present that the State Health Department's testing had given no indication that contaminants had reached levels in the St. Anthony wells which would justify the shutting down of any wells , but Mr. Lee said he ,agreed with the City Council that plans should be made for contingencies in case the water condition should deteriorate rapidly. However, he cautioned that- federal funding would be usedonly to provide a temporary remedy for the problem, since when the responsible .party and/or parties .are identified, they would be directed to provide permanent solutions towards the provision of clean drinking water. Copies of the CH2M Hill study and recommendations were handed out to the Council members and Mr. Schilling indicated copies would be made available to thepublic at the City offices and the St. Anthony library . The •. City wells would have to be tested at least over two summer pumping seasons to identify the sources of contamination so public funds spent on the study and remedy can be recovered from the responsible parties , _ according to the engineering firm representative. "2- Ms. Brustman distributed two MPCA .informational -sheets to all present in ` • which the historical background of thediscovery of the ground water problems affecting- the water supplies in Arden Hills, .New Brighton, and St. Anthony was. given along with recommendations from .CH2M Hill -for temporary City action. should the levels of contamination increase to an undesirable level. The study recommended the City should continue to closely monitor the quality ' of the water;, plan for implementation of permanent means of obtaining clean water; adoption of- a water conserva- tion program in case a well has . .to .be closed; and in .the event two wells should have to be taken off line, and conservation doesn' t provide adequate drinking water, immediately .implement one of the temporary measures suggested by the engineers . These options and their costs were discussed by Mr. Schilling. who ,reiterated it would bemuch. less .expensive for the Cityto tie-in to the Roseville water system than with that of Columbia Heights or to install either an air stripping or carbon filtra- tion system, or combination of both, on the' existing .wells. Drawbacks of the latter two options were- explored at length with . the engineer who said his firm' s experience with the air stripping filter system in Tacoma had been that the discharge of -pollutants from .the stacks had been pretty well diluted and widely dispersed but the' cost of the system itself is prohibitive for this purpose and the cost and difficulty of disposing of the .carbon made the operation and maintenance costs of the carbon filtration system very expensive. Frank Budnicki, 3124 Wilson N.E. , asked whether it had been determined which direction the underground- water flowed in this area and was told that generally, water could be expected to flow from northeast to southwest, but pumping could divert some of the flow. Mr. Lee assured him that after. the two year study in which wells would be sunk at various points there should be a more definitive answer to his question upon which the City could base a permanent solution. Mayor Sundland indicated he perceived that the Council was working on the assumption that contaminant levels in-the City wells would increase and, since both Roseville and St. Paul , who provides the water for Roseville, had indicated to Mr. Schilling they would be amenable to continuing a discussion with St. Anthony about the possibility of the City connecting with their water system on a temporary basis , believes there is a general consensus on the Council that a discussion should be initiated with the officials of both cities to determine the possibility of St. Anthony. making both. a temporary and permanent connection to their water system in the event the City' s drinking water becomes unsafe to drink. The hearing-was closed at 8 :19 P.M. Rosemary Franzese was - present to report to the Council the actions taken by the Planning. Commission during their June 21st meeting as reflected in the minutes for that meeting. At 8 : 20 P.M. the Mayor opened a public hearing on the request from Arkand Partnership for approval of- a Planned Unit Development Concept Plan for • Phase 1 of the Kenzie Terrace Redevelopment Project which the Commission had recommended the Council approve as presented. -3- ,,Commissioner Franzese reported the Commission. approval had been given • with some reservations about the adequacy of the parking the developers plan to provide for the project and indicated some- minor changes in the - -' minutes as theyhad been recorded. Steve'. Yurick of Arkell Development was present and he agreed with Commissioner Franzese that the building which is now proposed would be 43. feet tall which would... be two or three feet shorter than had been originally proposed. , The Commissioner also provided some clarification of how the. parking stalls .would be assigned, saying she understood the. ".walking .distance .from each parking stll would be equalized according to the location of the unit it matched" . Planning Commission Chair Makowske reported she had. discussed the parking provisions with Commissioner Jones since the June 21st meeting and shared his concerns that the parking provided for the over 55 age group who could be anticipated to' buy -the condominiums at this time might not be adequate to serve a change in- resident population ten or 15 years down the line when there .might be an appreciable increase in the number of vehicles owned which would force parking on the adjoining streets . She said Commissioner Jones still believes the parking study being done by the Arkand .group should include the parking provisions for the LaBelle condominiums being constructed on Central Avenue since he perceives the parking for the elderly housing on Stinson Boulevard is inadequate to the point that residents- have -to park on that busy street. Mr. Yurick indicated the LaBelle project had been one of the developments included .in the study and assured the Council that his firm would want to provide all the parking the prospective buyers would need since the units would only, be marketable if sufficient parking is available. He _ agreed a possible change in resident population should probably be taken into account. Although the .figures.: could not be considered decisive, Mr. Yurick said out of 25 to 30 surveys returned from the more than 200 sent to prospective buyers of the condominiums , 4 have indicated they would need no parking stalls and no one asked for two. When the remainder of- the surveys are returned, - he believes he .would have a more realistic picture of the parking needs . Mayor Sundland noted the dif- ferences in the LaBelle and Kenzie Project locations and discussed possible outdoor parking near the Legion Club, etc. He also said the City could restrict parking on 27th Avenue or Wilson as well. Councilman Marks commented that the City had historically required more parking than needed as evidenced in the Industrial Park. Councilman Ranallo said when his company had included in its building plans the possibility of adding .another floor in the future, the City of Golden Valley had .required them to provide parking to serve that potential space. He said he would rather see a whole floor of unused parking stalls in the Kenzie project than to force future condominium residents to park on. the adjoining streets-. No other input from the public was provided and the hearing was closed at 8: 31 P.M. '• Motion by Councilman ..Marks and seconded by Councilman Enrooth to follow the recommendations of ,the Planning Commission to approve the Planned Unit Development Concept Plan for Phase 1 of the Kenzie Terrace Redevelopment - Project as proposed by the Arkand Partnership and detailed in the prints -4- of the plans for setbacks , floor and unit designs , and. elevation which were submitted at -the public hearings before the Planning Commission %'June 21, 1983 and the Council, June 28 , 1983. Motion carried unanimously. Frank- Koes, 2817- Stinson Boulevard, ...was present to discuss the sign for sale of worms and leeches in- front of his home to which a reference had been made ,in .the Commission minutes . He said the person who had come to his home :to tell his. family to remove the sign had not identi- fied himself and Pair. Koes wondered why this notification was not made by letter instead. Mr.. Childs indicated it has been staff 's experience that most people get more upset with a letter notification than with having someone. just drop by to discuss violation of the City ordinance with them. Mr. Koes was told he .could not put. a sign on- the City right- of-way and his sign would have to conform to the new Sign Ordinance .requirements . The Commission report was concluded with a short discussion of the Commission' s plans for developing the Capital Improvement Plan and a recognition of th.e .new variance and conditional use recording system initiated by the staff which both Commission representatives said they found very helpful. The Mayor said. he had written to the Clark Oil Company regarding the unkept appearance of their property on the corner of 33rd Avenue N.E. and Stinson Boulevard. Senator Dieterich was present for .the MPCA-presentation and remained to discuss the various pieces. of legislationpassed in the last session of the Legislature and to offer his assistance with any bills which would come up in the mini sessions . He said he had. voted .for the "Superfund" and would be willing to do anything he eould ,to improve the water situation in St. Anthony . and New Brighton. The legislator indicated he. had .found the Council 's input towards the Metro Council member appointment most helpful and would be glad to. hear any - suggestions- they might have .about the upcoming Metro Waste Commission and Metro Health Board appointments . He noted that the Chairman of the Metro Council had become "very responsive" to suggestions from municipalities related to those appointments . The Senator then indicated he wouldbe happy to exert any influence he might have with Attorney General. Humphrey regarding a request for a class action suit submitted ,-by New Brighton -against the. parties they perceive to be responsible for the contamination- of their water supplies . Mayor_ Sundland recalled that St. Anthony had declined to joint with New Brighton in a lawsuitlast year because no contamination of the City wells was present at that time... 'He indicated he now. believes the City might not be ill advised to .joint .in that litigation and requested staff be directed to .discuss the possibility with New Brighton. Senator Dieterich requested he be sent. a copy of that correspondence so he can contact the Attorney General. The Mayor commented that -he believes the . City has excellent representa- tion from Senator Dieterich and Representative Rose at the State Legisla- ture. and urged the Senator to drop in for a visit any time. -5- ,Motion by Councilman Ranallo and seconded by Councilman .Marks to approve as submitted the minutes of the Council meeting held June 14, 1983 . Motion carried .unanimously. Motion by Councilman Ranallo `and seconded by Councilman Letourneau to approve all multiple housing -registrations and to grant all heating licenses as listed in the June. 28, 1983 Council agenda. Motion carried unanimously. Motion by Councilman Marks and seconded by Councilman Ranallo to approve payment of all claims listed in the June 28, 1983 Council agenda packet as follows: 1. All verified claims listed for May 31, 1983. 2 . $1, 369 . 70 to Dorsey & Whitney for legal services during April, 1983 . 3. $1, 500 to Edward J. Hance for June prosecutions . 4. $9 ,000 to School District #282 for- the use of the Parkview facilities during the second quarter of 1983. 5. $1, 305 as payment of annual membership dues to the Association of Metropolitan Municipalities . • ,6. $4 , 252 .50 to Doty. & Sons., Inc. . for excavation and compacting work on the broken water/sewer line in front of the high school at 3300- 33rd Avenue N.E. 7. $6 , 200 to Adrian Helgeson and Company for the 1982 audit of Sewer, General, Water and Liquor Funds . 8. $21, 350. to Schumann Bros . ,. Inc. , the contract amount due them for painting the City water tank. 9 . $6, 544.59 to the Community Services to cover expenses for the latch- key and senior citizens services which are to be paid .from CDBG funds . Motion carried unanimously. Motion by Counci.lman .Marks .and seconded by Councilman Letourneau to direct the petitioned street light be installed on the existing pole between 2612-2616-31st Avenue N.E. , as recommended by the Public Works Director in his June 27th memorandum, .finding that this installation conforms to both the City and NSP programs for lighting for St. Anthony. Motion carried unanimously. Councilman Enrooth reported the difficulties he and other Skycroft and 'Edgemere residents are experiencing when the black top fill recently installed on their streets softens whenever the temperature reaches 80 `, degrees . The factoryrepresentative- of the company who furnished the -6- fill would- be coming , out soon to discuss the: prob.lem, the Manager said. Since so many of this type of complaints are directed to the Council 'members personally, Councilman Ranallo suggested it might be advisable ` ; `' for staff to alert them whenever one of these blacktop repair projects are undertaken so the Councilmen would at least know what the callers are talking about. Councilman Letourneau requested that.whoever is responsible for keeping up the North. Gate property on Highway 88 be contacted regarding the maintenance of the site since in its present condition it gives a very poor first impression of the City. There was a good response from par.ticipants , .most of whom were from outstate, to the annual conference for the -League of Minnesota Cities held in Bloomington, .according to Councilman Ranallo .who. helped to plan the meeting. Fie anticipates future conferences would be scheduled out of the metropolitan area where prices are not so high and there is more interest. The Chemical Abuse .Information Committee minutes for June 8th were accepted as informational as- was the May Police Department Report after a brief discussion. Councilman Enrooth indicated he appreciated the new format for the Police report, which-,he perceives to be much more expansive. It was speculated that the new .Crime Watch program might be responsible for increased participation by residents. The general consensus was that the use of proceeds from the police auction primarily for equipment for the physical fitness program was a good decision. The Manager indicated -the .intital testing is completed and he was very pleased to find that no. City employees had any heart ' problems.- which would have prevented their participating in the exercise program. A portion of the funds would be allocated towards the purchase of anairdyne bicycle , Mr. Childs said. Motion by Councilman Ranallo and seconded by Councilman Enrooth to approve .the allocation of proceeds from the police auction of unclaimed property for the uses proposed in the Police Chief 's .June 21st memorandum. Motion carried unanimously . Larry Hamer's June 20th. memorandum. reporting the necessity of replacing a bearing in Well #4 was accepted as informational when the Manager indicated the billing would be submitted later. Mr. Childs indicated Fire Chief Lee Entner had secured the high school pool and gym for one evening a week for participants in the fitness program. Motion by Councilman Marks and .seconded by Councilman Ranallo to approve the. second reading of Ordinance 1983-004 . ORDINANCE 1983-004 . AN ORDINANCE. GRANTING THE SRA U14IFORM GAS FRANCHISE (MINNEGASCO) Motion carried unanimously. -7- `Motion by Councilman. Ranallo and seconded by Councilman Letourneau to I djourn the meetng. at 9 : 05 P .M. Motion carried unanimously. Respectfully submitted, Helen Crowe , Secretary 4ayvLor6� ATTEST: , City Clerk r'