Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC MINUTES 10081985 Meeting Sheet I IIIIII VIII VIII VIII VIII VIII IIII IIII 101798 BOX: TL Folder. CC MINUTES AND AGENDAS 1985 Document: CC MINUTES 10081985 i 4 CITY OF ST. ANTHONY . COUNCIL MINUTES October 8, 1985 The meeting was opened at 7:30 P.M. with the Pledge of Allegiance led by Mayor Sundland. Present for roll call : Sundland, Ranallo, Marks, and Makowske. Absent Enrooth (.arrived at 7:35 P.M. ). Also present: David Childs, City Manager; Richard Krier, H.R.A. Planning Consultant; and Mike Miller, Assistant Administrator of the St. Anthony Health Center. Mayor Sundland extended his own and his wife, Ardelle's, thanks for the plant which had been sent to Mrs. Sundland as an expression of staff and Councilmember:s':-; sympathy at the death of her father. Motion by Councilmember Marks and seconded by Councilmember Makowske to approve the minutes for the Council meeting held September 24, 1985 with the following amendment: Page 6, para. 1 : Insert "Councilmember Marks indicated he would be moving approval of the following 'under protest'" . • Motion carried unanimously. Motion by Councilmember Makowske and seconded by Councilmember Marks to grant con- tractors licenses to all the applicants listed in the October 8, 1985 Council agenda packet as follows: John Hunter Construction, Minneapolis Sussel Corporation, St. Paul Riteway Waterproofing, Minneapolis Motion carried unanimously. Councilmember Makowske indicated she would be abstaining on the motion related to the multiple dwelling permit -for properties on Old Highway 8 because her family still retained some financial interest in that property. Motion by Councilmember Ranallo and seconded by Mayor Sundland to approve a multiple housing registration from Kridle/Johnson for the properties at 2938 and 3004 Old Highway 8. Voting on the motion: Aye: Ranallo, Sundland, and Marks. Abstention: Makowske. Is Motion carried. w -2- Motion by Councilmember Ranallo and seconded by Councilmember Makowske to approve payments of the following as listed in the October 8, 1985 Council agenda packet: • All verified claims for October 8, 1985; $26,813.15 for the July billing from the Metropolitan Waste Control Commission; and $886.05 to Dorsey & Whitney for legal services during August, 1985. Motion carried unanimously. Councilmember Makowske indicated she had learned at the last meeting of the Ramsey County League of Local Governments that there would be a delay on the appointments to the Ramsey County Community Development Block Grant Advisory Board for which the Council had nominated David Childs last month. She reported the RCLLG newsletter had just gone out and would include information on the meeting scheduled in November to which a County judge and prosecutor would be invited to give some insight on how DWI sentences and fines are imposed. The speakers have not yet been selected, the Councilmember said. Councilmember Enrooth and City Attorney Soth arrived at 7:35 P.M. Councilmember Marks reported attending the October 3rd meeting of the Executive Committee of the Youth Service Bureau which had been held in the Bureau's new facilities in the Edgewood Community School in Mounds View. In addition, he had been appalled, the Councilmember said, to read the statistics presented by the Police Chief relating to the length of time offenders like rapists actually serve for their crimes, and when he had drawn the figures to the attention of a state legislator, had been told the legislature wasn't pushing for more effective • sentences because of the fear that the state would have to build twice as many jails than it has now to accommodate the increase in prisoners which would result. Councilmember Enrooth said he had gotten the same type of information from his neighbor who is a professional consultant on prisons and the Councilmember asked whether there would be any interest in having that person attend a future Council meeting and respond to the Council 's concerns about minimum sentencing. Another person who might also be consulted in that regard, Councilmember Ranallo said, would be Jim Zellmer, a City resident, who had servedas the Assistant Warden at Stillwater Prison and whose current job description was very similar to Councilmember Enrooth's friend's. When the suggestion was made that these two reports might fit in well with the November RCLLG meeting theme, Councilmember Makowske indicated they might make excellent follow-ups for 1986, but said the November meeting was planned to explore primarily the sentencing guidelines followed for DWI offenses in Ramsey County and she understood a spokesperson from MAAD might also be present to give her organization's reaction to those sentences. Short discussions preceded the acceptance of the City Prosector' s September 23rd report on matters handled at the Hennepin County Court September 18th and the September 10th minutes of the St. Anthony Chemical Awareness Committee meeting. In regard to the latter, the Manager said the City had again budgeted $1 ,200 to support that program in 1986 and had received no request for the $300 increase mentioned in the minutes. The September liquor operations report was also ordered filed. A work session to discuss with Ray Nelson, Liquor Operations Manager, the future • plans for that operation, was scheduled to be held, open to the public, at 6:00 P.M. prior to the Council 's meeting, October 22nd. ti -3- Mr. Childs had distributed copies of the October 7th letter from the League of • Minnesota Cities related to the concerns about the future integrity of tax incre- ment financing and the Manager commented that he perceived a new bridge in Plymouth, which had been installed with tax increment funds, was a good example of a project for which this type of funding should never have been used because the intent had mainly been to finance redevelopment. Mr. Krier commented on the reference in the letter to the fact that the Citizens League was recommending the abolition of the program in favor of an entirely new program, by saying, he perceived the League represented only the metropolitan cities and did not speak for the outstate cities, many of whom, such as Mankato, have indicated they would never have been able to construct some of the new pro- jects they had without this type of subsidy. There was general agreement that personal calls from the individual Councilmembers to Congressman Sabo regarding his vote on the Fair Labor Standards Act, might be more effective than another letter from the Council in general . Mayor Sundland suggested a meeting might even be arranged with the Congressman the next time he is in town. Motion by Councilmember Ranallo and seconded by Councilmember Mar.ks.;to accept all the applicants to serve as election judges for the City election to be held November 5th listed by the Finance Director in the October 8th Council agenda packet. Motion carried unanimously. The Manager indicated it would cost the City only a few hundred dollars more to • retain the Hennepin County Assessors Office to do the City's assessing in 1986. Mr. Soth agreed with Councilmember Makowske that it would be more accurate for #1 on page 2 of the proposed agreement with the County to be written to state that the County would perform the 1986 property assessment for the City "commencing August 1 , 1985 through July 31, 1986". Motion by Councilmember Marks and seconded by Councilmember Enrooth to adopt Resolution 85-040 with the agreement amended as agreed to during the October 8, 1985 Council meeting. RESOLUTION 85-040 A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR AND CITY MANAGER TO ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH THE HENNEPIN COUNTY ASSESSOR FOR ASSESSING SERVICES IN 1986 Motion carried unanimously. Councilmember Makowske suggested that, since the Council was already aware that there would be at least one vacancy to fill on the Planning Commission for 1986, it might not be too early to start advertising for applications. Mr. Childs reported that Jerry Isaacs had informed him that the ceremony connected with the removal of the large non-conforming sign in front of the Northgate Office Condominiums was now scheduled to be held October 17th. • Councilmembers indicated their happiness to see the large crane positioned on the Kenzington property and the Manager said he had been told some of the large panels would be installed very shortly. -4- The meeting was recessed from 7:57 P.M. to 8:01 P.M. , after which time the Mayor • opened the public hearing scheduled to consider the allocation of the City's $45,000 Revenue Sharing budget for 1986. The public had been invited to provide input to the Council 's decision regarding these expenditures, first at an executive meeting of the Council , September 24th, and, finally, at the hearing that evening. Although both hearings had been publicized in the Bulletin, there had been no response from the public before or during either Council consideration of the budget and the evening's hearing was closed at 8:05 P.M. for Council action. Motion by Councilmember Marks and seconded by Councilmember Enrooth to adopt the resolution which approves-;the expenditure of $25,000 in Revenue Sharing funds for building repairs and $20,000 for capital equipment purchases in 1986. RESOLUTION 85-041 A RESOLUTION ADOPTING THE 1986 REVENUE SHARING BUDGET Motion carried unanimously. At 8:06 P.M. , the public hearing was opened to consider the proposed 1986 City budget of $1,723,500 and the 1985 tax levy of $913,000, which would be collectible in 1986. The notice of the hearing had been published in the Bulletin September 17th and the proposed budget had been developed during three open wort sessions con- ducted by the Council . The Manager had distributed copies of the summary which staff had prepared on the budget in which comparisons had been drawn between the 1986 General Fund expenditures and revenues and those for years 1984 and 1985 and • the relationships between the proposed General Fund budget and various groups of expenditures and revenues and the projected sanitary sewer and water funds ex- penditures for 1986 which were illustrated on graphs by percentages. Mr. Childs estimated the $913,000 to be levied in 1985 represented a mill rate of about 14.45 mills, or a 1 .5 mill increase from the 1984 levy, based on the assumption that there would be very little in assessed valuations for 1985. The Mayor attri- buted the increase, for the most part, to the increase in insurance premiums charged the City for coverage it has to carry to provide adequate protection. Those insurance costs, the Mayor said, accounted for about 65% of the total budget increase. Although the mill rate would be raised with this budget, property taxes on a majority of the homes in St. Anthony would probably not go up because of the increase in Homestead credit from $650 to $700 allowed by the legislature this year, the Manager added. Noting the apparent lack of objections to the budget demonstrated by the absence of residents to provide input to the considerations, the hearing was closed at 8:10 P.M. Motion by Councilmember Marks and seconded by Councilmember Makowske to adopt the resolution which approve§ the proposed $1 ,723,000 budget for the City of St. Anthony for 1986 and the 1985 tax levy of $913,000 collectible in 1986. RESOLUTION 85-042 • A RESOLUTION APPROVING THE 1985 TAX LEVY, COLLECTIBLE IN 1985 AND THE 1986 CITY BUDGET Motion carried unanimously. - -5- At 9:00 P.M. , the Council meeting was reconvened, following the H.R.A. meeting, • to approve the actions taken by the Housing and Redevelopment Authority related to the Chandler Place project. Mr. Krier told Councilmember Makowske the Council had requested and received the Planning Commission comments on the project and no formal action on the part of that body would be required. When Councilmember Makowske reiterated her concerns about the use of the words "redevelopment" and "deteriorated" in the resolutions, which were prosed for Council adoption, Mr. Soth reiterated that, although there might be instances where the wording of the Tax Increment Financing statute might not perfectly fit each project accepted for such financing, in his opinion, the statutes clearly allowed the Chandler Place project. Motion by Councilmember Marks and seconded by Councilmember Ranallo to adopt Resolution 85-043. RESOLUTION 85-043 A RESOLUTION APPROVING THE REDEVELOPMENT PLAN OF THE ;ST. ANTHONY HOUSING AND REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY OF ST. ANTHONY, MINNESOTA ENTITLED "CHANDLER PLACE REDEVELOPMENT PLAN AND TAX INCREMENT PLAN", DATED OCTOBER 8, 1985 AND ESTABLISHING A REDEVELOPMENT PROJECT AREA Motion carried unanimously. • The Tax Increment Plan for the project had been written to include the existing health center in the financing plan, the Planning Consultant told Councilmember Makowske, and, under that plan, the center's assessed valuations would be frozen at its current levels and any incremental growth in value would be included in the payments to the H.R.A. Cthus "tax increment" financing) . There would be no net change in the taxes for the City, County, or Schools, but the pay back period on the apartment project would be advanced one or two years, thus placing the new taxable valuation on the rolls sooner. The City Attorney verified that the center owners would be getting no tax break under the plan and the City would, in reality, be losing no taxes. Mr. Soth added that under the plan recommended by Mr. Krier, the assessed values of the property could never go down until payment of all the tax increment costs. Motion by Councilmember Makowske and seconded by Councilmember Marks to adopt Resolution 85-044. RESOLUTION 85-044 A RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE COUNTY AUDITORS TO CERTIFY THE ORIGINAL, ASSESSED VALUE OF THE REAL PROPERTY WITHIN THE BOUNDARY OF THE CHANDLER PLACE REDEVELOPMENT TAX INCREMENT FINANCING HOUSING DISTRICT (TAX INCREMENT DISTRICT #3) Motion carried unanimously. • Mike Miller, Assistant Administrator for the Health Center and partner in the Chandler Place project, indicatedoheshad been surprised to find there would be -6- no "free lunch" for the developers involvedin the new proposal because "you'll really be doubling your money with this deal ". He confirmed that without the City's help, the developers would find it very difficult to proceed with the project with the addition of very expensive pilings added to. their costs. Councilmember,-Ranallo r_espondedtthati-he per_ceived--all -the Councilmembers�)n-~s wanted the project to proceed and had already agreed tax increment financing would be ,necessary to help offset the additional soil correction costs. However, the Councilmember said the new proposal had raised, what he perceived to be valid Council's. concerns, about investing the City's reserves. in a project which provides no liquidity for not just .one or two years, but five or si-x, during which .the City might find itself in' the position of needing,-those funds just to keep itself independent and able to ,keep its own fire and police protection, maintain its own roads, and fight off any attempts of annexation by another municipality, even under the worst scenario involving. loss of outside ,re. venues as well. as the necessity of looking for revenues to replace those currently provided by the liquor- operation. As she had in the H:R.A. ' resolutions, Councilmember Makowske requested the phrase "low and moderate income" be amended to read,-"low or moderate income" in #1 on the last page of Resolution 85-045. Motion by Councilmember Marks and seconded by Councilmember Enrooth to adopt Resolution 85-045 as amended. RESOLUTION 85-045 A RESOLUTION. TO DESIGNATE AND, ESTABLISH A -HOUSING DISTRICT NO. 3 PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS 'OF SECTION 462 OF THE MINNESOTA STATUTES AND ESTABLISH A' TAX INCREMENT • DISTRICT 'PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF SECTION 273.71 TO 27.3:78 INCLUSIVE OF THE MINNESOTA STATUTES (CHAPTER 322, LAWS OF MINNESOTA, 1979) AND ADOPTING A HOUSING PROGRAM AND FINANCE ,PLAN FOR SAID HOUSING AND TAX INCREMENT FINANCE DISTRICT Motion carried unanimously. Motion by Councilman Enrooth and seconded by Mayor Sundland to adjourn the meeting at 9:25 P.M. Motion carried unanimously. Respectfully submitted,. Helen Crowe, 'Secretary ayor ATTEST: City C I er