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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC MINUTES 10281986 Meeting Sheet IIIIIIVIIIVIIIVIIIIIII VIII IIII IIII iovis Box:21 Folder: CC MINUTES AND AGENDAS 1986 Document: CC MINUTES 10281986 CITY OF ST _ ANTHONY COUNCIL MINUTES OCTOBER 28 , 1986 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, Enrooth, Makowske. Also present: City Manager Childs. OCTOBER 14 , 1986 COUNCIL MINUTES Motion by Makowske, seconded by Marks to approve with the following changes: Page 3, para. 6: Substitute "less visible" for "lesser", line 2. Page 4, para. 4: Correct typos "prospective" and "radical", line 2. Page 5, para. 2: Correct typo "be", line 5. Page 5, para. 6: Insert "C.G." before "Rein", line 2. Page 7, para. 6: Correct typo "and" , line 6. Page 9, para. 3: Substitute "City Manager" for "bond consultant", line 1 . Motion carried unanimously. • LICENSES Motion by Marks, seconded by Enrooth to grant the following licenses as listed in the October 28, 1986 Council agenda packet: Contractors Metro Investors of Minneapolis, Inc. , Minneapolis Howard Boever & Associates, Stillwater Heating Olson Plumbing Motor Vehicle Starting Murphy's Service Center Motion carried unanimously. CLAIMS Motion by Marks, seconded by Makowske to approve payment of Accounts Payable listed for September 30 and October 17, 1986 in the October 28th agenda packet. Motion carried unanimously. • Motion by Ranallo, seconded by Marks to approve payment of $19,560.77 to Short- Elliott-Hendrickson, Inc. for engineering services on the St. Anthony Boulevard Reconstruction project through July 1 , 1986. Motion carried unanimously. -2- Motion by Marks, seconded by Makowske to approve payment of $1 ,725.20 to the Briggs • and Morgan law firm for consulting services through September 30, 1986 in conjunction with the City' s law suit against the U.S. Army et al related to St. Anthony's water contamination problems. Motion carried unanimously. Motion by Marks, seconded by Ranallo to approve payment of $3,409.46 to BWBR Architects for consulting services as of October 7, 1986 related to the proposed construction and remodeling of the Stonehouse Bar and Liquor Lounge. Motion carried unanimously. _REPORT ON OCTOBER 14 , 1986 PLANNING COMMIS— SION MEETING — COMMISSIONER R _ WERENICZ ROBERT PARMELEE REQUEST FOR SETBACK VARIANCE FOR 2501 PAHL AVENUE N.E. Application for: setback variance from Zoning Ordinance requirements. Proponents: Robert and Judy Parmelee, owner/residents. Opponents: None. Staff input: recommend approval . Commission recommendation: unanimously approved with conditions. • Council Action Motion by Ranallo, seconded by Marks to grant an 11 foot variance to the Ordinance requirement for 30 foot corner lot setbacks to Robert L. Parmelee which would allow him to add another stall to the existing attached garage and to extend the breezeway on the home at 2501 Pahl Avenue N.E. six feet further west to bring it into align- ment with the garage, on the conditions that: *the five foot, three inch gap between the garage and the building Mr. Parmelee uses to store automobiles he collects and renovates, be maintained through construction and afterwards, by removing the overhang on that outbuilding, if necessary; and *the pickup truck parked between the buildings be disposed of. In granting the variance, the Council finds, as did the Planning Commission, that: 1 . the applicant had answered all three questions in the application in the affirmative as required by statute; 2. no one appeared to speak against the variance at either the October 14th Commission hearing or October 28th Council consideration and staff re- ported receiving no calls related to the variance prior to either meeting; 3. the alleyway between this property and St. Anthony Boulevard is not a • throughway, and, therefore, a 30 foot setback might be excessive in this case; and 4. extending the breezeway would bring it into alignment. with the existing garage. -3- Motion carried unanimously. • PLAISTED REQUEST FOR CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT FOR DRIVE-THROUGH WINDOW FOR DAIRY QUEEN Application for: conditional use permit in a commercial zone to include a drive- through window in the expansion and remodeling of that St. Anthony Shopping Center store. Proponents: Albert Plaisted, 5210 O'Connell Drive, Moundsview, MN (owner) Charles Anderson of Blue Line Construction, North St. Paul (contractor) Opponents: None. Staff input: provided picture of another Dairy Queen store which would differ from this one mainly in that no roof would be constructed over the drive-through area; raised no objections to request. Commission recommendation: approval with conditions related to traffic flow patterns. Council Action: Motion by Marks, seconded by Makowske to grant the requested conditonal use permit in a commercial zone to Albert Plaisted which would allow the inclusion of a drive- through window in conjunction with the proposed expansion and remodeling of the Dairy Queen at 2612 Highway 88 on the conditon that markings on the surface of the adjacent • parking area as well as signage be provided to direct the traffic past the drive- through window in a proper manner. In -- granting the permit, the Council finds, as did the Planning Commission, that: 1 . the applicant had answered all three questions in the application in the affirmative as required by statute; 2. the addition of the drive-through window would not interfere with existing traffic flow patterns or cause congestion problems that would be peculiar to that area; 3. no opposition to the permit was demonstrated at either the October 21st Commission hearing or the Council consideration October 28th, and staff reported receiving no calls related to the variance prior to either meeting; and 4. the applicant appears to be making every effort to upgrade his property, improve its appearance, and to bring it into conformance with what is seen to be a positive approach by the center owners to upgrade the entire shop- ping center. Motion carried unanimously. REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL SIGNAGE FOR DAIRY QUEEN Application for: variance to Sign Ordinance which would allow a free-standing sign • (60 square feet on each side) in addition to logo on new roof. -4- Proponents: same as for conditional use permit. • Opponents: none. Commission recommendation: agreed with staff recommendation that "pylon" sign should not be allowed. Council Reaction: Makowske - told proponents that free-standing signs had been denied for Zantigo Restaurant in Apache Plaza as well as other types of City businesses in the past. Ranallo - said the Council had also denied additional signage for Slumberland, etc. in the same center to avoid proliferation of signage. Sundland - recalled a long history of opposition to "pylon" signs in St. Anthony. Marks - agreed with Commission suggestion that a moratorium on further signage in the center be imposed in anticipation of a uniform sign policy being instituted with the new store fronts. A colored drawing of what the Eberhardt Company envisioned the St. Anthony Shopping Center would look like after the new store fronts and canopy over the walks had been installed with the funds the center owners had allocated for that purpose had been shown by staff at both the Commission hearing and that evening. The Dairy Queen owner told the Councilmembers his decision to remodel his own store to conform to that design had been predicated upon the "verbal " agreement he had with Lara Seven, who manages the center for Eberhardt, who he said he considered to be "one of the best manager's they've ever had down there, having found tenants for all the empty stores with a waiting list to fill any future vacancies". Mr. Plaisted said he perceived the owner's willingness to finally make these improvements had to some degree resulted from the manager's telling them he had threatened to move his Dairy Queen away from the center if substantial improvements to the center as a whole were not made immediately. Other factor's in that decision, as the franchise owner saw them, were the fact that the Eberhardt representative recognized that "there wasn't a single store owner in the center who didn't want the improvements made and that the City's patience with the owner's failure to make any changes down there had just about run out". There was a general Council concurrence with the last statement and Councilmember Ranallo added that the City had even offered to support Industrial Development Bond financing for those improvements. Mr. Childs pointed out that there would still be a Dairy Queen logo on the mansard roof which would be in keeping with the signage proposed for the rest of the stores in that shopping center and that the existing revolving sign on top of the building now had been "grandfathered in" with the new Sign Ordinance. Motion by Marks, seconded by Enrooth to follow the Planning Commission recommenda- tion to deny the request for a free-standing sign for the St. Anthony Dairy Queen at 2612 Highway 88, in anticipation that uniform signage for the entire shopping center would be forthcoming and the City could best deal with that probability by not granting any further signage variances in the St. Anthony Shopping Center. Motion carried unanimously. -5- REQUEST FOR SIGNAGE FOR J. T. VARGAS REAL ESTATE OFFICE AT 3909 SILVER LAKE ROAD • Application for: variance to the City Sign Ordinance regulations related to free-standing signs to allow installation of an 8 foot X 3 foot (24 square feet on each side) sign in the same location where several "unacceptable" signs for previous tenants had been sited. Proponent: Jose T. Vargas, who told the Council he had not yet cleared the berm setbacks with Mr. Hamer. Opponents: none. Staff input: *City had granted a variance for a free-standing sign to the previous tenant which he had erected in a manner which had not met the City's expectations for signage the Council had approved; and *the existing berm could only be extended to a distance which would meet the County's requirements for setback from their right-of-way. Council Direction to Applicant: Sundland - the manner in which previous signs on this property and the property to the south had been erected had resulted in the City tightening up its ordinances dealing with berming for free-standing signs. Marks - the City wants to assure that the "spirit" as well as the "letter" of the Sign Ordinance is observed with this sign. Council recommendation: approval with conditions. Council Grants Variance With Conditions Recommended by Planning Commission Motion by Marks, seconded by Ranallo to grant the requested variance to the Sign Ordinance requirements for free-standing signs to J. T. Vargas Co. , Inc. Real Estate, 3909 Silver Lake Road, .which would allow the installation of a two-sided, 24 square foot (48 square feet total sign area) sign to be mounted above a berm, portions of which are in existence on the property, on the conditions that: *the berm be extended the full length of the sign and the sign rest not more than six inches above the .berm at its lowest point; and *the sign not be lighted for night use. The Council finds, as did the Planning Commission, that: 1 . when a similar sign was approved for a prior tenant in this building, the intent of the variance was that a full berm be provided under the sign and the same conditions should be required of this applicant; 2. the applicant had answered all three questions in the application in the affirmative as required by statute; • 3. the petitioner had indicated coompliance with all the requirements of the variance; -6- 4. an amended sketch of the sign which would be installed would have to be submitted before the City issues a permit; and • 5. no one appeared at either the October 21st Commission hearing or the Council consideration October 28th to speak against the variance. Motion carried unanimously. REQUEST FOR LOT SPLIT FOR 2809 ST. ANTHONY BOULEVARD Application for: subdivision without platting which would allow transfer of a triangular parcel 122 X 134.55 feet X 133.40 feet (831 square feet) from 2817 St. Anthony Boulevard (Lot 49) to applicant for 2809 St. Anthony Boulevard (Lot 48) . Proponent: Robert A. Knox (not in attendance) . Opponents: None. Staff input: no new non-conforming property wold be created. County has already done all the paper work to transfer the land. Commission recommendation: Council approval . Council Approves Subdivision Without Platting and Transfer of Property Motion by Ranallo, seconded by Makowske to approve the subdivision without plat- ting which would allow the transfer of 831 square feet of property from Lot 49 • (2817 St. Anthony Boulevard) to Lot 48 (2809 St. Anthony Boulevard) as requested by Robert A. and Mary C. Knox, owners of Lot 48, finding, as did the Planning Com- mission, that: 'the lot split would accommodate the owners of both Lots 48 and 49; °although non-conforming property sizes would be continued with the variance, no new non-conforming property would be created, and °no one appeared at either the October 21st Commission hearing or the October 28th Council meeting to speak against the land transfer and staff reported receiving no calls for or against the lot split prior to either meeting. Motion carried unanimously. MODIFIED REQUEST FOR SIGNAGE FOR B. N. METRO CREDIT UNION AT 2500 HIGHWAY 88 Application for: variance for two signs (12 inches X 16 feet each) to be mounted on the roof of the drive-through teller facility the Council had approved for the above address August 28, 1986. The applicant had chosen signage on the dirve-thro.ugh in lieu of a sign on the Northgate Office Park building when he learned only one sign would be permitted for his business. Proponent: Frank Stieve, Treasurer and Manager of the Credit Union. • Opponents: None. Staff input: recommend approval with conditions imposed by Planning Commission. -7- Council Approves Signage Recommended by Planning Commission • Motion by Marks, seconded by Makowske to grant a variance to the Sign Ordinance requirements for only one sign per business to the B. N. Metro Credit Union, 2500 Highway 88, to allow two 12 inch X 16 foot signs to be mounted on the northeast and southwest sides of the Credit Union's free-standing drive-through teller facility at the Northgate Office Park on the conditions that: *the signs which would be comprised of dark brown raised letters on a flat white background vertical to the canopy, would not be lighted; and *'no additional signage would be erected on the main building except the allowed window signs and the small placard on the building columns the Northgate management permits as identification for individual condominium owners. In granting the variance, the Council finds, as did the Planning Commission_, that: *no one spoke against the variance during either the October 21st Commission hearing or the Council consideration, October 28th and staff reported no calls for or against prior to either meeting; *the applicant had answered all three questions in the application in the affirmative as required by statute. Motion carried unanimously. REPORTS • Frustration with County D Delays Continues Councilmember Marks reported the project was one of the main topics of the meeting Ramsey County Commissioner Don Salverda held October 24th with officials of the municipalities he serves. The Councilmember indicated he had told Commissioner Salverda the City has received complaints about this project more than any other project in St. Anthony's history and found it difficult not to draw a comparison between the County's project and one of similar length on St. Anthony Boulevard which the City had completed in September in less than two months. Councilmember Marks said Commissioner Salverda had reported the County had considered cancelling the project contractor the first year he failed to complete the project but had decided against doing so bcause it was perceived that would only result in a law suit which would delay the project even more. The conclusion he had drawn after that meeting, the Councilmember said, had been that "the only relief the City is ever apt to get is to have the project completed". Councilmember Enrooth said one of the most frustrating aspects of the whole matter was the fact that Commissioner Salverda had never responded to any of the calls or letters from St. Anthony concerning the delays. He said not only did it appear the contractor had done everything he could to prevent people from walking in that area but he had also done nothing to permit any business to be transacted at all along that commercial strip when the Councilmember said he thought four lanes of roadway could have been opened to traffic much sooner. Councilmember Ranallo said he just hoped the St. Anthony residents finally realized • this was a county project and that the City officials were unable to do anything which would hurry it along. -8- Mr. Childs confirmed that the only response the county -had made to City complaints had been to send one of the construction people out to give the City the same • "unacceptable" reasons for the delays. Two Retirements from Public Works Department Reported Mayor Sundland said Herman Weber and Jerry Sauer would be leaving- City employment sometime in Janaury, with Mr. Weber's resignation already tendered. Candidates for Office Speak at October 22nd RCLLG Meeting Councilmember Makowske reported incumbent Arne Carlson, State Auditor, and candidates for the State Treasurer's Office, John Drew and Mike McGrath had discussed their candidacies at the meeting last Wednesday and she had also had the opportunity of expressing her own displeasure with the delays on County Road D with Commissioner Salverda during the meeting. The Councilmember indicated the Commissioner had rsponded to her complaints about never having calls to his office returned by saying he had passed all those complaints on to the person in charge of that project. Northeaster Reporter Introduced to Council Mr. Childs introduced Carol Adelman who said that when a part time reporter starts to work on a full time basis in November, the St. Anthony Council could expect full coverage by a Northeaster reporter because it would no longer be necessary for the same newswriter to cover the Columbia Heights School Board and City Council meeting the same evening as Amy Clemens has been attempting • to do for the past year. Comments on October 21st Staff Notes Sundland - indicated he appreciated Larry Hamer's comments on St. Anthony Boulevard parking enforcement. Ranallo - said he was impressed with the fact that the Police Department had estimated it had saved 225 gallons of gas the first two months the new Chevrolet Celebrity squad cars had been in use and that the City Manager had reported an improvement in performance over the old squads. - noted a large number of cars pulled over to the side by City Police on Silver Lake Road. Childs - told him those tags were "well deserved" because for the most part they had been issued for speeds ranging between 48 and 58 miles an hour in a 30 mile an hour speed zone; added that the City intends to continue to discourage drivers' desires "to roll right on down Silver Lake Road" and also County Road D when it is completed. Manager Says EPA Expected to Authorize Carbon Filtration System for City Wells Soon Mr. Childs reported the MPCA had informed him that day that they expected the EPA to make a decision soon to authorize the above system for City Wells #3 and #4 and for raw water to be run from Well #5 to the central plant for filtering. He said • this would eliminate the need for chlorinating Well #5 which had caused some. problems for residents in the northern end of the City. According to what he had heard, Mr. Childs said it appears that the EPA might possibly be able to use Superfund monies to pay 90% of the operation and maintenance -9- costs of the system for ten years, which should place the City in a better position as far as waiting out any litigation with the Army because its exposure in terms • of costs would be greatly reduced. The design work could start in the last quarter of this year but if the monies are not available, work might not start until the first quarter in 1987, which would mean the southern quadrant of the City would have to rely on Roseville water again next summer, which Mr. Childs stated that he recognized none of the Councilmembers wanted to hear. The City Manager reminded Councilmember Ranallo that the City had only been given the opportunity of commenting on which system they preferred and he said the City would not be approving any plans or specs; calling for bids; or have any responsibility for construction management of the project. The St. Anthony input which would be sought would be related to the filtration equipment location, etc. , although, the City would own the system once it is installed. Even if the MPCA and EPA were able to recover their costs from the private parties deemed responsible for the City's water contamination and the Army's share of those costs could be somehow shifted between government agencies, Councilmember Marks and Mayor Sundland said they thought the litigation against the Army was still viable because the City would need to be reimbursed for the costs it would incur after the first ten years had elapsed and for the additional years which it would take for "clean water" to pass through the aquifer to St. Anthony, if and when, the contamination from the arms plant is discontinued. Council to Seek Aid of Congressional Delegation to Speed Up Design Study Funds • Mr. Childs suggested the best way of speeding up the progress to avoid having to go on Roseville water next summer would be to get the City's congressional delegation working on unraveling EPA red tape. Mayor Sundland indicated he intended to personally lobby Congressman Sabo's office in ,that regard the next day. The suggestion that a copy of the letter from Mr. and Mrs. Gerhardt Bentler, 2900 Roosevelt Street N.E. , complaining about having to purchase bottled water all summer rather than to have their family drink the water from Roseville should be attached to the Council 's letter to St. Anthony's senators and congressman was well received. Councilmember Makowske wondered if a copy of the Bentler letter should not also be sent to the EPA "on the chance that they might want to reimburse those people for those expenditures". Councilmember Ranallo suggested it might also be a good idea for a general letter to be sent to all City residents to clear up the mistaken ideas like the Bentlers have that the City is able to switch sections of the City to receive Roseville water. Motion by Makowske, seconded by Marks to request a letter from the Council be sent to all members of the congressional delegation serving St. Anthony asking them to do everything they could to speed up the funding of the carbon filtration systemdesign study so the City residents won't have to use Roseville water as an alternative to contaminated water next summer, and to illustrate resident resistance to that happening, to enclose a copy of the Bentler's letter in each • senator' s and congressman's letter. Motion carried unanimously. -10- Plans Made for Participating in Group W Cable Election Night Programming • Since the City had no elections scheduled for November 4th, Mr. Childs wondered what the Council wanted to do about the North Suburban Cable Commission request that each member municipality prepare a report on their own community for viewing election night. He said St. Anthony would be the only community not participating in the programming which was designed to show viewers what might no longer be available to them in terms of public interest programming if the new owners of the cable system follow through on their intent to cut out all the 'Unprofitable" programming they are able. The program would also be designed to prove the channels provided for public programming are being used, the Manager added. Suggestions for City programming included the marketing committee presentation or one on the use of Roseville water controversy. Council Reluctantly Approves Transfer of Ownership of North Suburban Group W Cable T.V. The next item on the Council agenda was the proposed resolution to approve the above which the legal counsel for the North Suburban Cable Commission had addressed in its September 16th memorandum to all member municipalities. Mr. Childs said he had been unable to speak to Dave Mikkelson the City Commissior representative. about why he had decided to sign the letter approving the transfer but in talking to the City Attorney, had learned there was really little else that could be done as long as no compelling reasons were advanced for denying the transfer. He also questioned whether the City might have to exercise its intent to purchase the system itself if it chose to deny the transfer. • Motion by Ranallo, seconded by Marks to adopt Resolution 86-035. RESOLUTION 86-035 A RESOLUTION APPROVING THE TRANSFER OF OWNERSHIP OF GROUP W CABLE OF THE NORTH SUBURBS, INC. Motion carried unanimously. Second Reading of Personnel Ordinance Approved The second reading of the above was approved on the condition that all the changes John Zwackman of the City Attorney's office had proposed as further protection for the City would be included in the final form presented for a third reading and adoption by the Council . Motion by Ranallo, seconded by Marks to adopt Resolution 86-035. ORDINANCE 1986-007 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTION 135 - PERSONNEL POLICY OF THE 1973 CODE OF ORDINANCES Motion carried unanimously. The meeting was recessed from 8:35 P.M. to 8:45 P.M. • STONEHOUSE REMODELING/ADDITION City Manager Childs stated that construction bids ranged from $956,000 to $1 ,066,000. This is much higher than estimated and what the Council had indicated was an upper limit on what the project should cost. Ron Langness reported that a larger bond would be harder to market. ' -11- It was discussed that the remodeling concept is still viable, but just that the City can't do as large a project as expected at this time. • Wil Johnson of BWBR Architects was present to give scenarios of what could be done to get the project down to costs the City could afford. Mr. Johnson indicated that the fact that there is so little deviation between bids proves that the bidders i-n terpreted drawings the same and that bids were fairly accurate representations of what the project would cost to construct. The bids are a couple of hundred thousand dollars over what the architect had pro- jected. An increase might have resulted from the contractor's walk through the project before bidding, which might have given them a figure not given by drawings. Their reaction may have been that they were afraid they were dealing with a "hodge podge cancerous" building with utility problems and other problems somewhat unique to this building. He also reported that it is not unusual to have an estimate off 15%+ in remodeling projects. The architects had hired Hagman Construction to make the original estimate of construction costs. The total estimate was $751 ,000 for the construction but did not incude bar fixtures, kitchen equipment, etc. The alternative deducts are (in order) : (1 ) basement; (2) kitchen; (3) greenhouse enclosures for front door; and (4) fence on roof to screen mechanical . Options Proposed by Architect 1 . Do the project as bid ($965,000) meaning a bond issue in excess of • $1 ,000,000. 2. Remodel the Stonehouse as it exists today. Do the complete bar renovation, including kitchen with greenhouses, fence, etc. and have a small bottle shop in the current off-sale space in the building and delete the new con- struction which he estimated would eliminate approximately $400,000 from the total project cost. 3. Delete the basement under the new warehouse and the atrium and transfer about 40% of the cost of electrical and mechanical for the kitchen directly to Mannings which would result in a total cost of approximately $775,000. 4. Drop the whole project. Councilmember Ranallo said that when the City first considered the project they were looking at $683,000 and now talking about way over a million. Wil Johnson reported that on July 24th the projected budget was $982,190 for com- plete construction and bar finish. The Council had then ordered to go with a base bid and several deducts. There is a 30 day deadline to let contractors know about the bids. The City would have to start bond sale now to keep the project on its current schedule. A work session is probably needed to talk about options. is The need to remodel the Stonehouse bar still exists and this was the #1 recommendation of the Liquor Task Force. Stonehouse remodeling cost nearly $300,000 12 years ago with not that much accomplished. -12- The store in the redevelopment area has a limited life but Mayor Sundland stated that major changes in the redevelopment plan may give the City some breathing time on the • warehouse. The establishment of a warehouse on the northern end of town (LaBelle's) may allow a smaller store on the south end. Councilmember Enrooth felt that the City might be able to float a smaller bond issue of $500,000 - $600,000 and asked what additional costs would be incurred for delaying in terms of bond consultant's costs and other fees. Councilmember Ranallo suggested that we put everybody on hold so the meter doesn't keep running. Staff can then put new figures together as to costs already incurred for architect and bond consultant and what can be done to make the project work. Mayor Sundland suggested that the Council consider deduct impact and consider options presented that evening. Councilmember Makowske stated that we can "dream about castles but often can't afford them". Mr. Johnson agreed the project bid on had been the "ultimate dream". Maybe the City can't afford everything they wanted. Removing the basement would take off $112,000. He felt that there are viable options which upgrade the business to allow the City to remain in business, and still make money, which is the primary goal . Councilmember Marks wanted Mr. Nelson to present a scenario of what each deduct • would do to business. He also wants to look at phased construction. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Ranallo, seconded ,by Marks to adjourn the meeting at 9:30 P.M. Respectfully submitted, Helen Crowe, Secretary cjk •