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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC MINUTES 10141986 Meeting Sheet IIIIIIVIIIVIIIVIIIVIIII I II IIII IIII iovv Box-. ,21 Folder: CC MINUTES AND AGENDAS 1986 Document: CC MINUTES 10141986 'i CITY OF ST _ ANTHONY COUNCIL MINUTES OCTOBER 14 , 1986 The meeting was opened at 7:30 P.M. with the Pledge of Allegiance led by Mayor Pro Tem Ranallo. . Present for roll call : Marks, Ranallo, Enrooth, Makowske. Absent: Sundland. Also present: City Manager Childs and Richard Treptow of Springsted, Inc. September 23 , 1986 Council Minutes Motion by Makowske, seconded by Marks to approve with the following changes: Page 2, para. 6: Correct typo "operation" in line 3 of Sundland's comments. Page 2, para. 7: Delete "at this time" at end of Ranallo's comments. Page 3, para. 7: Substitute "for a week" for "a four week" in line 2. Page 4, para. 4: Insert after Ranallo's comments"Coun c i 1 member- Makowske indicated she: *would also be voting for the proposed motion "only under duress"; *understood charities were trying collectively what they could not do individually but disagreed support could only come from gambling; *perceived from the response she had gotten to the Bulletin article that gambling to the degree requested would not be in the 'sense and spirit' of the community because there was a marked difference between the nine sessions the charities had requested and the one session the American Legion had held .in their own building one night a week". Page 6, para. 4: Substitute "if" for "of" in line 4. Motion carried unanimously. Licenses Motion by Makowske, seconded by Enrooth to grant the following licenses as listed in the October 14, 1986 Council agenda packet: Contractors Palani Construction,- Inc. , Minneapolis Dave Zahler, Minneapolis Gary Jansick, Fridley is R J S Concrete, Blaine B. N. Metro Credit Union (Southside Concrete) Homecare, Inc. , Bloomington -2- Heating • Total Energy Heating & Cooling Motor Vehicle Starting Apache Mobil Service Motion carried unanimously. Veri fi ed Cl aims Motion by Marks, seconded by Enrooth to approve payment of the following claims as distributed by Mr. Childs prior to the meeting and listed in the October 14, 1986 Council agenda packet: Accounts Payable for September 30th and October 14th; $1 ,825 to Edward J. Hance law firm for prosecution services from September 4 through October 1 , 1986; $4,653.14 and $4,450.38 to Short-Elliott-Hendrickson, Inc. for engineering services on the St. Anthony Boulevard reconstruction project from July 23 through August 23, 1986, all of which is fully recoverable from MSA funds; $331 .61 and $17,523.16 to BWBR Architects for consulting services related to the proposed remodeling of the Stonehouse bar and off-sale liquor facilities; $25,108.11 to the Metropolitan Waste Control Commission for September, 1986 sewer service charges; $22,543.29 to Viking Chevrolet for two Celebrity squad cars purchased through Hennepin County; $2,090 to Briggs and Morgan law firm for legal services through August 3, 1986 in connection with the water contamination law suit against the U.S. Army et al ; $1 ,087.92 to Bruce A. Leisch Associates representing St Anthony's half of their charges for consulting services related to the water contamination problems. Motion carried unanimously. Reports Youth Service Bureau Tenth Anniversary Observance, October 30th Councilmember Marks reminded the Council about the upcoming event where Minneapolis Police Chief Tony Bouza would be the main speaker. Latest Drug Threat from California The Councilmember then relayed some of the information he had received from Chief Hickerson related to the "designer drugs" are .now flooding the market which .he said are manufactured by a chemist rather than grown like marijuana or heroin, etc. , and are harder to detect in the blood stream or urine. Councilmember Marks said the drug is often not identified until after young users are brought to the hospital "frozen up overnight" with Parkinson disease-like symptoms. Lobbying Efforts To Be Decided by League of Minnesota Cities November 20th • Mayor Pro Tem Ranallo reported the LMC Board of Directors had been meeting with the various legislative committees and had set an agenda of support for various legislative issues which would be presented to the general membership at a meeting to be held at the Sheraton Midway, starting at 10:00 A.M. , November 20th. The -3- Mayor Pro Tem said he would anticipate St. Anthony members would be especially interested in the proposal that the League support the Superfund and he expected • any representative of a municipality which has a pipeline running under it to be interested in the League's support of legislation arising from the MoundsView gas line rupture. One of the issues which is expected to generate some controversy would be the proposal that the League oppose state certification of fire reserves because municipalities like St. Anthony, who already have ongoing programs for bringing their fire departments up to standards, view the certification as another unnecessary state regulation. City's Frustration With County Road D Delays Council-member- - Enrooth said he had received more complaints about the delays in reconstructing County Road D in the last four weeks than he had over the two years the road has been under construction. He said none of the letters or calls from St. Anthony officials to Ramsey County Commissioner Salverda seem to have made any difference and Councilmember Enrooth said most of his own calls had never even been returned. The Mayor Pro Tem oserved that all the meetings Commissioner Salverda holds to discuss the concerns of the municipalities he serves have done little or nothing to remedy the situation, and he said he makes it a practice to give Commissioner Salverda's telephone number to irate residents who call to complain about= the difficulties they experience because the road is not yet open. Councilmember Marks said he had discussed the problem with Commissioner Salverda at several of those meetings and the Councilmember said he had also talked to a resident, who is very affected by the project, who had told him he was also very unhappy with Hennepin County Commissioner Sivanich because he perceived this was a joint county project. Mr. Childs asked Larry Jones, the Bulletin news writer, whether his paper. was going to do any further investigation of the delays. Mr. Jones told him his paper was carrying another article in this week's edition which reported the contractor's reason for not completing the project. The Manager indicated he would expect those reasons to be no more convincing than those previously given and said the reason he had posed the question was because, when the "Minneapolis Star Tribune" reporter, who had recently been assigned to write about suburban Ramsey County, asked for suggestions for a story, the Manager had encouraged him to follow up on this story. RCLLG October 22nd Meeting to Focus on Candidates for State and District Offices Councilmember Makowske suggested this meeting might give City officials the opportunity to get their perspectives on City issues from persons running for the lesser state offices and District 63 A and B seats. She reported having been appointed to chair the RCLLG Board of Directors nominating committee and urged Councilmembers to submit the names of those they would like to see serve on the Board. Councilmember Makowske indicated she had informed the Board that she would not be a candidate for Board membership next year. • Departmentment Reports Accepted and Filed The Council considered and ordered filed as informational the following: -4- *September Fire Department report; • *Hance firm report on matters conducted at Hennepin County Municipal Court on October 1 , 1986; *September Liquor Operations Sales Summary. Kenzie Terrace Redevelopers Appearanco Before Planning Commission October 3rd Copies of the minutes of the Commissioners' meeting with Arkell Development to discuss changes in the proposal for Phases II and III of the Kenzie Terrace Redevelopment Project had been distributed to Council members and elicited the following reactions: Ranallo - perceived "drastid' changes in both the use and type•of buildings the redevelopers were now proposing as compared to the original plan for 300 condominiums for seniors only; - pointed out that where no more -than two persons would be expected to live in senior occupied units there could be at least four people living in each of the two bedroom units of the 288 units being proposed at this time; - expected community concern about having families crowded into such a limited space with no provision for play areas which are required for that type of development; - indicated the proposed exterior changes with a minimum of brick and mostly wood siding, did not appeal to him at all ; disagreed with the assumption that the proposed project would "fit well • into the community like the 202 project next door" saying he had heard many derogatory remarks about that project; - wanted the Bulletin to do a story on the changes so residents who would pro- bably not receive a notice of the November 3rd hearing the Commission was to hold, would have an opportunity to provide input towards the final decision on the changes. Makowske - agreed that the proposed changes represented a "drastic change" when it came to the ages of the prospectrive renters which would be a readical departure from the owner occupied units the first Kenzie Terrace Task Force had recommended fearing property values would decline with market rate rentals; - perceived a building which is mostly siding would tend to bring the whole project down to a point where it would probably not be appealing to most of the people already living in the community. Marks - said he had shared the first Task Force's concern that the units should be owner occupied and recalled that the concern for lack of space for play areas dated way back to the Task Force which was considering only families with no kids; - wondered if some play areas could be worked in with the holding pond area; - doubted renters would have more than one or two children with today's demographics with the number of large families decreasing and rate of single parent families going way up; - recalled that when he and Mayor Sundland had visited the H.U.D. offices to lobby for the 202 project, the H.U.D. officials had been quite -5- impressed with the project being sited in the middle of a "sort of campus • with all ages included", which the Councilmember indicated he perceived was the point to which the redevelopers had returned with their new proposal . Enrooth - was concerned whether the commercial area there now, which he perceived was comparable to some of the worst sections of the Twin Cities, would ever be redeveloped; - was concerned the rents the redeveloper was now proposing would be amenable to an element very different from what the City had originally envisioned with owner occupancy. Mr. Childs indicated all these concerns would probably be brought up at the public hearing and he told the Councilmembers the preliminary plans which the redeveloper had shown to the Planning Commission were already being changed to reflect some of their suggestions. He also said he would a working with Mr. Treptow to determine whether the cash flows for retiring the bonds were possible for the different values he saw for the new project as compared to the 300 unit senior rental project the City had approved in December. However, it was already apparent to him that those values were off a couple of million dollars and that the City would have about 20% leverage in terms of additional amenities to make the project work. The Manager said even with lower interest rates and the fact that the school referendum had raised the total City mill rate from 100 to 111 , he perceived that if the City were to require the developers to raise the property values by $2,000,000 to meet the bond requirements, amenities more in keeping with the quality originally approved for the project would probably have to be added which the Manager perceived, would force an adjustment of rents to pay for those additions. • Mr. Childs reminded Councilmember Enrooth that the same conditions which bothered him now had caused the City to look at the redevelopment of that shopping center in the first place. Mr. Childs told the Councilmembers he perceived the City would be faced with some "tough choices" regarding this project, because if the property values aren't elevated to meet the bond requirements, he wasn't certain -what other alternatives the City had. The Manager said he would be keeping his promise to Minneapolis Alderman Dziedzic's representative to let the Alderman's office know that changes in the project are being considered at this time. Before the meeting was adjourned, the Councilmembers compared the space available for this project with other City apartment complexes on the Zoning Map. Manager's Reports *Lease Options for Apache Wells Bar Considered The reference in the October 10th staff notes to Mr. Nelson's negotiations with the Rein Company prompted Councilmember Makowske to comment that she perceived the option for moving the bar next to the new warehouse would be worth checking out. Mr. Childs told her she was the second Councilmember to suggest that option be given serious consideration during the negotiations. • *Lease Extension for City's Use of ParkUiew Mr. Childs reported the District #282 School Board had agreed to extend the lease at the same rate for the next two years with the deletion of space the City had -6- subleased in the past and the addition of the space the Police Department is now leasing. He said even with the latter, the City would be paying for a few hundred • square feet less space. Councilmembers Enrooth and Marks were congratulated for their successful negotiations. *St. Anthony Boulevard Reconstruction Completed Councilmember Ranallo urged staff to get immediate state approval of the project. Motion by Marks, seconded by Enrooth to authorize the City Manager and Mayor to execute a two year extension of the City's lease with District #282 for the use of Parkview facilities as negotiated. Motion carried unanimously. *Veterans Day Meeting Rescheduled Motion by Marks, seconded by Enrooth to reschedule the first Council meeting in November to be held at 7:30 P.M. Monday, November 10, 1986. Motion carried unanimously. *Two Planning Commission Seats Open in 1987 Mr. Childs requested the Bulletin news writer to let the public know that, -according to Council policy, there would be two seats expiring on the Planning Commission in 1987. He indicated he would be notifying Commissioners Jones and • Hansen that it would be necessary to let the Council know whether they desired to continue their service so their names could be considered along with other applicants who might express an interest in serving. No MWCC Sewer Rate Raise for 1987 Mr. Childs reported the Metropolitan Waste Control Commission had notified the City that due to past credits, there would be no raise in sewer service charges in 1987. Substantial Expenditures Imminent for Foss Road Lift Station As a related matter, Mr. Childs informed the Council that there had been some very serious problems at the Foss Road lift station and it was evident something substantial would have to be done about the existing undersized facility in 1987 or 1988. The initial analysis of what those improvements might cost has already been started-- but the Manager said it is already apparent they could beuq ite extensive, which in turn could mean a substantial raise in sewer rates. Council- member Makowske said she wasn't surprised because the Public Works Director had informed her about the failing facility some time ago. Long Range Goal Setting Retreat November 7th and 8th • John Vinton of the Government Training Service would be facilitating the planning session at the Riverwood Inn in Monticello which would start at 7:00 P.M. Friday evening, according to Mr. Childs, who said the facilitator would be meeting with the Department Heads the morning of October 24th and would like to meet with individual -7- Council members later that afternoon to ascertain just what areas they perceived should • be pursued during the planning sessions. Councilmember Marks commented that he believed Mr. Vinton was a dean at Hamline University. Election Juclgas Appointed Motion by Makowske, seconded by Enrooth to approve the list of persons proposed by the Finance Director to serve as election judges for the General Elections November 4, 1986. Motion carried unanimously. Silver Lane Maintenance Agreement Accepted Motion by Marks, seconded by Makowske to adopt the resolution which authorizes the execution of the agreement with Ramsey County whereby the City Public Works Department would provide road maintenance along Silver Lane from Stinson Boulevard to Silver Lake Road during the 1986-87 winter season. RESOLUTION 86-033 A RESOLUTION_ AUTHORXZING "...THE _- MAYOR,-- AND CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE THE AGREEMENT BETWEEN RAMSEY COUNTY AND THE CITY OF ST _ ANTHONY FOR 1986-87 WINTER ROAD MAINTENANCE SERVICES Motion carried unanimously. • Cal l for Bids for New Motor Grader Authorized Motion by Ranallo, seconded by Marks to approve the specifications and call for bids for a new motor grader subject to verification that "a delivery date which is no more than 60 days from the date of the order" would be feasible. Motion carried unanimously. Recommendations for Issuance of $ 1 , 210 , 000 in Liquor Revenue Bonds Richard Treptow of Springsted Incorporated presented the various documents the Council would have to approve to schedule an issuance of $1 ,210,000 in liquor store revenue bonds to finance the proposed construction of a new liquor store building and to remodel existing Stonehouse bar and off-sale liquor store facilities. Copies of the financial consultant's recommendations had been distributed to Council members prior to the meeting and various aspects of that recommendation were discussed at length with the consultant. Mr. Treptow told the Councilmembers a liquor store bond was very rare in today's market bcause so few municipal operations were successful enough to expand. He also said he perceived there might be some problems with selling the bonds because they can only be paid for an secured by revenues from the operation with no taxing power legally available to the bond holders if revenues are not sufficient. Mr. Treptow indicated that typically bond investors would be looking for a reserve of at least one year's debt service which in the City's case would-amount to- $147,000 or $150,000 but the 1986 Tax Reform Act had restricted the amount the -8- City could borrow for that purpose to 10% of the issue or $121 ,000. This would require the City to supplement that amount by either using available funds on • hand or funding the reserve increase requirement over several years from current operating profits. Mr. Childs said he had learned that the City could not use general reserve funds as: reserves for the bond issue but asked whether there was any interest on the Council for transferring $121 ,000 from the $500,000 in debt service reserves the City has sitting untouched in the bank just making interest. The Mayor Pro Tem said he would also like to see some of the construction costs like signage, fixtures, and architectural costs paid from the reserves rather than putting them in this issue. Councilmember Enrooth said he would like to see the issue kept under one million dollars if that could be done. Mr. Childs indicated he would prepare a report on just where reserves are available "for the City to borrow from itself". Mr. Treptow said he was not certain just how the market would be reacting to the uncertainty about the City's ability to get liability insurance over 15 years but Springsted had seen enough interest on the part of the underwriters to recommend a public sale be held November 10th to get bids for the issue. He said he knew the underwriters would always be willing to buy the bonds on a negotiated basis which would reduce their risks so, if no bids are received by November 10th, the City would have the right to negotiate a sale with them. _- The consultant told Councilmember Enrooth that because of the demand for any type of bonds right now, Springsted's "most conservative" judgment was that . the bonds would go for 8.5% in this period of law interest rates. If general = • obligation bonds were involved, Mr. Treptow said they would go for only 6%. He affirmed that the bonds would be tax exempt under the new tax law. The bid openings for construction of the liquor store would be October 28th after which the City could exercise its options to reduce the amount of the bonds -- according to the bids to the appropriate levels for a final decision by November 10th, Mr. Treptow indicated. Mayor Pro Tem Ranallo told him he was quite .certain the City would not be increasing the amount of the issue because there are options available which if deleted could reduce the cost of the project. Mr. Childs indicated 15 companies have requested to see the plans for the project and he expected some low bids which could cut the project costs back. The architect : had provided some options for cutting the project itself back and the Manager said using City reserves to cut down the issue or going for a ten year issue instead of 15, might make the bonds more attractive to the bond bidders. When Councilmember Enrooth said he was concerned about projecting revenues for 15 years in the liquor business, Mr. Treptow said the bond buyers would determine how realistic those revenue projections were. He also said because -the -City is not permitted to use general funds to pay off the bonds, the bond owners could under the issue Covenants only force the sale of the liquor facilities if revenues went too low to support bond payments. The bond consultant added that if the City's population ever exceeded 10,000 a referendum to decide whether or not to continue the liquor operations in that event would be necessary. Mr. Childs said the 1970 census showed St. Anthony with only 9,239 persons living in the City, which was the highest ever reached and there would have to be some drastic is changes made before the current figure of 7,770 would reach 10,000. Mayor Pro Tem Ranallo recalled that Spring Lake Park had sold $600,000 in bonds for a liquor store about two years ago but that was only for an off-sale operation. Mr. Childs agreed that was not the same as in today's insurance market where the City pays $1 per $100 in sales for the off-sale operation but $7 per $100 • for the same sales in the on-sale stores. Motion by Ranallo, seconded by Enrooth to adopt the resolution which authorizes the sale of $1 ,210,000 in liquor store revenue bonds to finance the construction, remodeling, and equipping of the Stonehouse bar and liquor store facilities with the sale to be held at 7:00 P.M. November 10, 1986, prior to the scheduled Council meeting at 7:30 P.M. the same evening. RESOLUTION 86-034 A RESOLU.T'1O.N-1>AUTHO.R'I ZING i�T'S'SUANCE AND SALE OF $ 1 , 210 , 000 LIQUOR STORE REVENUE BONDS , SERIES 1986 Mot.ion _carried unanimously. Before leaving the bond consultant reminded the Council members that if they decided not to issue the bonds they would nevertheless be obliged to pay out about $100,000 in fees to the architect and Springsted, and he therefore urged them to let his firm know about any such decision by the 28th so additional expense of printing the bonds could be avoided. Personnel Ordinance Decision Deferred for Attorney ' s opinion The second reading of Ordinance 1986-007 was deferred for additional information • from the City Attorney. Adjournment Motion by Enrooth, seconded by Marks to adjourn the meeting at 9:05 P.M. Motion carried unanimously. Respectfully submitted, Helen Crowe, Secretary Ma ?orr ATTEST: City Clerk • cjk