Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC MINUTES 05121987 Meeting Sheet IIIIII VIII VIII VIII VIII VIII IIII IIII 101665 BOX: TZ Folder: CC MINUTES AND AGENDAS 1987 Document: CC MINUTES 05121987 C 2 TY OF S T . ANTHONY • C OUN C 2 L M 2 NUTS S MAY 1 2 , 1 9 8 7 The meeting was opened at 7 : 30 P.M. with the Pledge of Allegiance led by Mayor Sundland. Present for roll call: Sundland, Marks, Ranallo, Makowske. Absent: Enrooth (arrived at 7: 35 P.M. ) . Also present: David Childs, City Manager William Soth, City Attorney Larry Hamer, Public Works Director Mark Flaten, American Risk Services, Inc. APRIL 28 , 1987 BOARD OF REVIEW MINUTES Motion. by Makowske, seconded by Marks to approve the above as submitted. Motion carried unanimously. APRIL 28, 1987 COUNCIL MINUTES • Motion by- Makowske, seconded by Marks to approve the above with the following changes: Page 3 , para. 3 : Substitute "Commission" for "Commissioner" in line 2. Page 11, para. 10: Substitute "no slack at all" for "so little slack" . Page 18, para. 11: Insert after Ordinance description: "Voting on the motion: Aye: Marks, Makowske, Sundland Nay: Enrooth" . Page 18, para. 12: Substitute "Motion carried" for "Motion carried unanimously" . Motion carried unanimously. WATER EMERGENCY REPORT ACCEPTED AS AGENDA ADDENDUM Staff had been forced to impose a total sprinkling ban for the City Saturday, May 9th, because the water reserves had sunk to such levels that there was danger thee would not be enough water pressure to fight fires if that action were not taken, according to Mr. Childs. The Manager then requested Council direction related to further actions, proposing the following as options: *continue the total sprinkling ban ( least likely) ; • -2- *immediately connect the southern quadrant of the City to the St. Paul water system (very costly because the water cost the City twice as much as it charges its customers) . Last year the cost of water purchased from mid-June to September 1st was about $24,000; *go to an odd/even sprinkling ban from 3 : 00 P.M. to 11:00 P.M. each day which would give the City the necessary 16 hours Mr. Hamer has indicated would be needed to replenish its water reserves. The Public Works Director answered Council questions and provided the following technical specifics related to those options: -indicated that with only two wells in operation, the City' s pumping capacity had been cut down 30%; -said banning sprinkling on Saturday only wouldn' t work because the reserves have to be replenished on a daily basis; -told Councilmember Ranallo washing and other household uses were not major contributors to the water shortage; -agreed with Councilmember Enrooth the system would only work if all residents cooperated with the ban; • -reported the City wells are only producing 2, 300 gallons per minute now and on May 9, residents were using more than 2,950 gallons a min- ute, which doesn' t provide enough surplus to fight a big fire; -explained that a study had been done several years ago related to the possibility of permanently connecting the City' s water service to the St. Paul system by making the connection with that system, . which would involve digging under Hwy. 88 , at the same time they studied the current connection of the southern quadrant through existing pipe under 29th Avenue N.E. The latter was the only connection the EPA would pay for with Superfunds so the City would have had to foot the bill for any other connection. Mr. Hamer said the Public Works Department would follow the practice it had in previous years of not sprinkling the parks at all during periods of water shortages but would need to make an exception of the mini-park at the Highway 88/St. Anthony Boulevard city entrance which was in dire need of watering. The Public Works Director said one of the calls he had gotten in relation to the complaints from residents who had to use St. Paul water in prior years had come from a woman who said she had surveyed her block and all the residents had agreed that the City should connect the southern portion to St. Paul water right away; raise taxes to pay for bottled water for the affected homes; and "let the rest of us water our lawns • whenever we want" . • -3- ordinance Considered Which Would Make Non-Compliance With Ban A Misdemeanor Councilmember Enrooth said he knew of instances of residents who knew about the ban last weekend and consciously continued sprinkling in spite of that knowledge. When he said he perceived any ban which the Council would be imposing that evening would, in all reality, be only a request for compliance, staff agreed that the Council could adopt an emergency ordinance that evening which would provide a penalty for non-compliance. Councilmember -Marks indicated he thought some residents had just not been aware that the ban had been imposed. He said he heard one TV broadcast which reported the ban, but gave no reason for its imposition. He had called that station to let them know the City was not just arbitrarily " enforcing a sprinkling ban, but that St. Anthony faced a serious water shortage for which there were higher priorities than just watering lawns. Mr. Childs indicated all the media he contacted had been fully informed about why the ban was necessary. The proposal to adopt an ordinance that evening prompted the following response: • Makowske said she would be hesitant to pass an ordinance about an issue which w�+s riot 'istedd-or.-- the 'a4enda that-, evening: Ranallo suggested the ordinance could be developed for consideration at the next meeting so any future ban could be enforced. Childs commented that he did not perceive the level of non- compliance to be a major problem at this point in time because on the whole, people had been pretty cooperative; indicated that for staff to attempt to address the ban with a newsletter would probably get the information to the resi- dents too late to get compliance during the current emer- gency. Hamer suggested a 3 :00 P.M. to 11: 00 P.M. ban might be a problem for commercial property owners in the Industrial Park as well as City workers because most workers would be gone for most of those hours; reiterated that in the case of the City parks, it would be better not to sprinkle them at all during emergency periods. • -4- Council Action The City Manager was directed to continue to use the media to publicize the sprinkling ban. Motion by Ranallo, seconded by Enrooth to adopt a City policy under which a sprinkling ban would be imposed on an odd/even house address basis from 3: 00 P.M. to 11: 00 P.M. for residential property and on the same basis for commercial/industrial property, from 7: 00 A.M. to 3:00 P.M. every day. Motion carried unanimously. LICENSES/PERMITS/PETITIONS Motion by Ranallo, seconded by Marks to grant the following as listed in the May 12, 1987 Council agenda packet: Contractors Richard Traczik Construction, Inc. , Coon Rapids Antco Construction Company, Lexington Asphalt Specialties, Lakeland Cigarette Get It For Less, Inc. , Apache Plaza Motion carried unanimously. Temporary Beer Permits for City Parks Motion by Ranallo, seconded by Enrooth to grant temporary 3.2 beer permits to the following applicants: *Patricia Fagerlee, 3407 Croft Drive, for a family picnic, to include the use of Diamond #3 in Central Park, - from 11:00 A.M. to 9:00 P.M. , June 6 , 1987; *Jean Johnson, 3510 Skycroft Drive, for a University of Minnesota Veterinarian Medicine Department picnic to be held in the Central Park shelter from 5:00 P.M. to 10:00 P.M. , May 16, 1987 . Voting on the motion: Aye: Ranallo, Enrooth, Sundland, Makowske. Nay: Marks. Motion carried. • CLAIMS Motion by Marks, seconded by Makowske to approve payment of the verified claims for City accounts payable listed for April 30 and May 12 in the May 12, 1987 Council agenda packet. Motion carried unanimously. Motion by Marks, seconded by Enrooth to approve payment of $762.23 to the Dorsey & Whitney law firm for legal services during March, 1987. Motion carried unanimously. Motion by Marks, seconded by Enrooth to approve payment of $1,221. 20 to the Briggs and Morgan law firm for legal services in conjunction with the City' s lawsuit against the U.S. Army et al related to St. Anthony' s water contamination problems. The Council also directs staff to schedule a meeting with- the law firm related to future services in this regard. Motion carried unanimously. Motion by Makowske, seconded by Marks to approve payment of $3 ,000 to the City of Fridley as the City' s share of the hazardous materials response vehicle purchased under the joint powers agreement for this five city project. Motion carried unanimously. REPORTS Councilmembers Urged to Make Early Reservations for League of Minnesota Cities Conference in Rochester, June 16, 17, and 18 Councilmember Ranallo urged the above, reiterating that this conference is expected to be one of the biggest ever. DEPARTMENT AND COMMITTEE REPORTS The April liquor operations sales summary was ordered filed as informational . = CITY MANAGER REPORTS May 5, 1987 Staff Meeting Notes St. Anthony Won' t Be Affected By Legislative Compromise on Party Designation on New Voting Machines Carol Johnson' s concerns about the costs of proposed modifications had been dispelled, Mr. Childs reported because the proposed compromise would probably only require color coding the ballots according to party designation, which would not affect the City and the modifications would only apply to the general election where the County pays for the ballots. Finance Director' s Report on Computer Purchase Costs for Water and Sewer Billing Welcomed Councilmember Enrooth said he perceived a cost recovery within a year to be very good. Unexpended Housing Rehabilitation Funds Reallocated to Kenzie Terrace Pedestrian Signal Project As he had indicated in his May 8th memorandum, Mr. Childs reported there were $15,000 in Hennepin County CDBG funds allocated several years ago for housing rehabilitation in St. Anthony which remain unexpended and available for the above project. The Manager had attached to his memorandum a copy of the resolution reallocating these funds to bring the project within $15,000 of its probable cost of $75,000, recommending the Council also authorize preparation of plans and specifications for the signal. He had also advised the remaining unfunded portion could be taken from the 1988 CDBG allocation or funded by the Kenzie Terrace Tax Increment project. Councilmembers were urged to let the Manager know which engineers should be contacted for quotes. • Councilmember Makowske commented that the signal would certainly provide safer crossing for Kenzington residents. Council Action Motin by Marks, seconded by Makowske to adopt Resolution 87-020 and to authorize the preparation of plans and specifications for the Kenzie Terrace Pedestrian Signal Project. RESOLUTION 87-020 A RESOLUTION REALLOCATING CDBG FUNDS Motion carried unanimously. REACTION TO THE PRELIMINARY PURCHASE AGREEMENT FOR PROPOSED TRANSFER OF PARKVIEW BUILDING TO CITY TO BE SOUGHT FROM DISTRICT 4282 Mr. Childs had presented the terms of the above as negotiated with the school district in his May 8th memorandum. The draft of the agreement had been developed by the City Attorney and distributed that evening. The City Manager indicated the committee appointed by the school district to negotiate the building purchase by the City, had requested terms 44 and 45 related to the school' s use of the gym until such time as it' s • converted to a fire station by the City and their continued use of the cafeteria for community education activities be addressed in a side letter agreement. -7- Mr. Soth went through the document, emphasizing that it represented only a preliminary purchase offer for which specific cost figures could be inserted only after the school had submitted the designs for the facilities the City would be providing in exchange for the building. Councilmember Makowske stated she would be very uncomfortable even considering the preliminary agreement without assurance that the community would be given an opportunity to provide input to the final decision. There was general agreement that there should be no problem with just getting the school district' s reaction to the preliminary agreement, especially in light of the time restrictions on getting the transfer approved this year. Council Action Motion by Marks, seconded by Enrooth to authorize the submission of the draft of an agreement under which the City would purchase the Parkview facility to District #282 for their reaction. Motion carried unanimously. AGENDA ADDENDUM Proclamation to Thank David Wilmes for Services to St. Anthony The City Manager was directed to develop the above as requested by Councilmember Marks. Council Action Motion by Marks, seconded by Ranallo to express the City' s gratitude for Dave Wilmes ' services to the community through the Suburban Youth Service Bureau with a proclamation. Motion carried unanimously. PUBLIC HEARING VACATION OF SUNSET AVENUE EASEMENT APPROVED FOR WALKER ON KENZIE The public hearing on the above was opened by Mayor Sundland at 8: 27 P.M. The necessary documents had been submitted by the City Attorney with his April 20th letter explaining why an additional easement had to be vacated. Mr. Soth reiterated that because of a surveying error in 1985, the width of Sunset Avenue had been underestimated at the time it was vacated for the senior housing apartment. Vacation of that portion of street was therefore necessary to clear the title for a final closing on the property. The hearing was closed at 8:30 P.M. for the following: • • -8- Council Action Motion by Ranallo, seconded by Makowske to adopt Resolution 87-019 with correction of the date for the Clerk' s Certificate. RESOLUTION 87-019 A RESOLUTION VACATING A PORTION OF EASEMENT Motion carried unanimously. NEW BUSINESS 1987-88 INSURANCE RENEWAL PACKAGE As indicated in the City Manager' s May 8th memorandum, Mr. Flaten had compiled the price quotes he had gotten on various aspects of the above and Councilmembers were provided copies of his report before the meeting. The City' s insurance consultant reported further that: -quotes for the umbrella coverage had not come in yet but he expected them to match last year' s figures; • -Worker' s Compensation rates had gone down considerably, although the City' s experience modification has risen; -commended the City and its employees for their efforts under the Claims Management program, which, as long as there were no further claims between April 1 and June 1, would result in a return premium of about $54,000 for the City; -pointed out that under the Retrospective Rating Adjustment program, the City had been able to save close to $20,000 because a large claim had been pushed back to a prior year; -advised that past experience would seem to indicate the City should successfully be able to take higher property and general liability deductibles as he had shown on the report; -told the Council he perceived the League of Minnesota Cities In- surance Trust was the best program available for them; -said he perceived the insurance climate had stablized somewhat when it came to general liability even though the League Trust had chosen not to return all the premiums they could to the cities. Mr. Childs indicated staff perceived higher deductibles should be based on the number of occurrences and recommended he and Mr. Flaten be directed to seek another quote from the League Trust based on an aggregate deductible cap. Council Action Because Councilmember Ranallo is actively associated with formulating the League ' s budget, Mr. Soth agreed with him it might be prudent for the Councilmember to abstain from the motion on the insurance package. Motion by Enrooth, seconded by Marks to approve the 1987-88 insurance renewal package presented by the American Risk Services representative at the May 12 , 1987 Council meeting, except for the umbrella coverage which was not available, and subject to the best deductibles staff is able to negotiate with the League Insurance Trust. Voting on the motion: Aye: Enrooth, Marks, Sundland, Makowske. Abstention: Ranallo. Motion carried. UNFINISHED BUSINESS ORDINANCE 1987-002 IS ADOPTED WITHOUT SPECIFYING NUMBER OF PARKED • VEHICLES BY A 3 TO 2 COUNCIL VOTE Removal of Article #14 of the proposed ordinance which restricted the number of vehicles to be parked on a residential lot to 4, had been approved with a 3 to 1 vote, April 28th. Mayor Sundland read aloud the revised Ordinance in the agenda packet and gave his understanding of the changes which would be made in the 1973 Code of Ordinances, if that version were to be adopted that evening. Councilmember Enrooth told the nine residents who were present that after from six to ten months of discussions, the general consensus appeared to have been that there hadn' t been too much public response related to changing the number of people who can live in a household, but the greatest response addressed the number of vehicles. Mayor Sundland commented that he didn' t think anyone could accuse the Council of "railroading" the changes through with all the hearings the Council had held and the publicity that generated on the issue. Four residents requested to be heard as follows: Kathleen (Mrs. Gary) Danyo, 3540 Edward Street N.E. -indicated she was expressing her husband' s as well as her own con- cerns about the proposed ordinance, specifically about the parking .issue; _10- -said they wanted the section which had restricted vehicles on a lot to four reinstated in the ordinance because she perceived if the City allowed four to be parked, some people would park more than that in defiance of the ordinance; -cited as an example the fact that some residents had completely ignored the sprinkling ban, even knowing the City' s water supply was very low; -insisted there had to be "more teeth" in the ordinance to correct some of the existing problems with "unsightly" vehicles parked around the Village; -said she and her husband spend a lot of time keeping their property up and even pay to have a boat and trailer they own parked elsewhere so their neighbors won' t have to look at them from their backyards; -said she wanted "the City to have the same kind of concerns about all the City yards. " Frank Koes, 2817 Stinson Boulevard -said he had a hard time accepting the fact that under the new ordin- ance he would no longer be able to park a utility trailer and a 14 • foot fishing boat on the grass in his backyard; -indicated he did not consider trailers or boats to be "eyesores" but rather, "sort of symbols of the society we live in" ; -reported it would cost him more than the boat was worth to store it every winter; -stated he believed the new ordinance "went too far towards inter- fering with his freedoms" ; -was told that he could put patio blocks under his vehicles without getting a permit, but a permit would be required if he had a con- tractor put in a concrete surface; -indicated he thought the ordinance wouldn't get at the problems it was supposed to correct and, would only cause problems for people like himself where most of the vehicles parked on his property are only temporary and would be gone when his children leave home. Bob Lohmar, 2812 St. Anthony Road -said he wanted the Council to pass as strict an ordinance as they could that evening; -pointed to a property at 3208 Roosevelt Street N.E. which had been on • the market for almost a year which, he was convinced, had not sold • -11- because the house across the street had many, many cars and parts. of cars parked on the grass on the front yard; -contended that, if the price on that house has to be reduced to sell it, that would mean its valuation would also go down resulting in lower taxes for the City; -perceived the need for making the ordinance as strong as possible to protect the assets of every piece of property in the Village; but -warned the ordinance would be no good if it wasn' t strictly enforced. Carol Anderson, 3523 Edward Street N.E. -reported a family had moved to her block and allowed two young people to live in their downstairs which had resulted in five vehicles, . including two large vans and a pickup truck, being parked in the front yard; -added that two of these vheicles were parked the whole winter on the grass, in an area not even close to the driveway, which had left ruts in the front yard which still remain; • -said her concern was that, although the two extra people have since moved away, the family might repeat the same situation again; -admitted, however, that she felt some sympathy for those persons who wanted to store their recreational vehicles in their backyards; -wondered if the ordinance couldn' t be modified to allow vehicles like boats, snowmobiles, and small trailers, but not cars, in their back- yards; -said she recognized that even that might be a problem for corner lots, however; -concluded by saying she recognized this ordinance was needed because she knew of cases of prospective buyers who had decided not to move to St. Anthony because they saw too many abandoned vehicles, etc. parked on lawns which they viewed as hurting property values. The Council reacted to the residents' comments as follows: Sundland -said he believed the ordinance had been written in the first place to get at some of the incidents people were reporting to the Council; -indicated he had a particular property in mind when he first thought about such an ordinance but had been told by the • City Attorney that the problem he was concerned about was • -12- more of a "cleanliness" issue which couldn' t be legislated against; -indicated the ordinance wouldn' t be addressing that problem at all; -agreed with Mr. Lohmar that the ordinance would have to be enforced to be effective but told him enforcement could only come from self-policing by the residents and would have to be initiated by complaints lodged by a neighbor about a situation perceived to be an ordinance violation. Ranallo -told Mrs. Anderson up until last week the ordinance had restricted vehicles parked on a lot to more than four; -said Article #14 had been deleted at the last Council meet- ing when he had not been present and had been unable to, express his opposition to its removal; -indicated that at first he had thought there should be no more than two or three vehicles parked on a lot but had been willing to compromise for four; . -contended that putting six or seven vehicles on a paved surface as one resident had testified he does, would never correct the problems the Council was addressing; -stated that, as far as he was concerned, removing Article #14 would not be fulfilling the promises the Councilmembers had made to the voters when they were campaigning, "to improve St. Anthony" ; -promised to refer any complaints he received in the future back to the Councilmembers he perceived were not keeping that promise. Councilmember Ranallo asked Mr. Koes if he thought his neighbor would have trouble selling his house if prospective buyers saw a camping trailer as well as three other trailers in his backyard. He said his real estate friends have told him they perceive "St. Anthony is going downhill. " The Councilmember said further: -staff had recently gotten complaints about large trucks parked on residential property but he had a hard time distinguishing between that and a 23 foot long motorhome parked on residential property all year long along with a camping trailer, a boat, a trailer holding two snowmobiles, and three or four automobiles; -he pays rent every winter to store his own vehicles .-°,.Y, • rather than to force his neighbor to look at them in his backyard; • -13- -he strongly recommended the Council reinstate Article #14 ; because -he had no intention of voting for the ordinance without it. Councilmember Enrooth stated that: -he didn' t think the Council had been as concerned about minitrailers or small boats being parked on residential property as they had been about situations where a trailered 24 foot long "mini-cruiser" is parked where the neighbors have to look at it from October through May; -he thought the Council really hadn' t known where to draw the line to mediate the problem; -he perceived there was a need to establish some sort of maximum; -as he had indicated during the April 28th meeting, he strongly believed that Article #14 with a specific number should be included; and -he hadn' t changed his viewpoint on that since then. • Councilmember Marks reported that during the time he was campaigning voters had appeared to have the greatest concerns about a small number of unsightly yards where parts of vehicles or construction equipment was left on lawns all year long. The Councilmember said: -he had noticed for the first time one of his neighbors had a number of vehicles parked next to a woods and he perceived that homeowner should probably have been at the meeting that night to protest what Article #14 would be doing to him; -he didn' t think the small boats people consider to be "symbols of affluence" were really the problems the ordinance was directed towards; -rather than restricting the number of vehicles to 4 to get at unsightly construction equipment parked on residential property, thought the Council should be looking for ways to specifically address that type of violation. The Councilmember was told even the existing weight restrictions would not address some of the motorhomes neighbors have to put up with in the yard next door since the ordinance exempts recreational vehicles. Councilmember Makowske said she perceived the ordinance in its present form addressed the specific problems of unsightliness, parking ruts in lawns, as well as parts of vehicles laying all over front yards the Council was looking at. She contended: -14- -the ordinance went a long way towards improving the appearance of St. Anthony without infringing on residents' ability to use their pro- perties well; -this was a good ordinance which was very livable for most of the fam- ilies in the City, including those with four, five, or more drivers in their homes who would have to come up with $15 or more to get a vari- ance in order to temporarily park the additonal cars their families need until the children grow up and move away; -any problems the Council perceived remained after the new ordinance had been in place for a while could be addressed at a later date. Mayor Sundland indicated he wasn' t certain just how far the Council could go definition-wise, because he had some empathy with the problem his neighbor next door would be facing having parked a small boat on blocks on his lawn with a cover over it next to his garage for the last 29 years. He was told the neighbor wouldn' t have to worry as long as the boat was stored on the patio blocks. The Mayor then told Councilmember Ranallo he perceived a one car homeowner like himself could create more problems for the neighborhood if he also parked three other vehicles like a 20 foot travel trailer, a 22 • foot boat, and whatever other vehicle he chose in front of his home, than the homeowner with three cars and a small boat. Council Action Motion by Ranallo, seconded by Enrooth to adopt Ordinance 1987-002 with the original Article #14 included. Voting on the motion: Aye: Ranallo, Enrooth. Nay: Sundland, Makowske, Marks. Motion failed. Motion by Makowske, seconded by Marks to adopt the version of Ordinance 1987-002 which had been included in the May 12, 1987 Council agenda. AN ORDINANCE RELATING TO DEFINITION OF A FAMILY AND TO OFF-STREET PARKING REGULATIONS: AMENDING SUBDIVISION 2 OF SECTON 2 OF APPENDIX I ( ZONING) OF THE 1973 CODE OF ORDINANCES BY AMENDING PARAGRAPH 29 AND BY ADDING A NEW PARAGRAPH 77(A) ; AND AMENDING SUBDIVISION 9 OF SECTION 12 OF SAID APPENDIX BY AMENDING • PARAGRAPH 8 AND BY ADDING NEW PARAGRAPHS 13 AND 14 -15- Voting on the motion: Aye: Makowske, Marks, Sundland. Nay: Ranallo, Enrooth. Motion carried. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Enrooth, seconded by Marks to adjourn the meeting at 9: 25 P.M. Motion carried unanimously. Respectfully submitted, Helen Crowe, Secretary yor ATTEST• City Clerk :cjk •