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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC MINUTES 10221991 Meeting Sheet IIIIIIVIIIVIIIVIIIVIIIVIIIIIIIIIII 101395 Box: 19 Folder: CC MINUTES AND AGENDAS 1991 Document: CC MINUTES 10221991 1 CITY OF ST. ANTHONY 3 4 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES 5 6 OCTOBER 22 , 1991 7 8 1 . CALL TO ORDER/PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 9 The meeting was called to order by Mayor Ranallo at 7 : 30 1_0 p.m. and the Pledge of Allegiance was led by members of 11 a fourth grade Boy Scout Troup from a local school . 12 13 14 2 . ROLL CALL 15 16 Council Present : Mayor Ranallo, Councilmembers Marks , 17 Fleming, and Wagner. 18 Council Absent : Enrooth 21 Staff Present : City Manager Burt , Management Assistant 22 Urbia, Finance Director Larson, Fire Chief Johnson, 23 Police Chief Engstrom, and Public Works Director Hamer . 24 City Attorney Soth arrived at the meeting at 8 : 10 p.m. 25 26 27 3 . APPROVAL OF OCTOBER 22 , 1991 COUNCIL AGENDA 28 29 Motion by Marks , second by Wagner to approve the agenda 30 for the October 22 , 1991 Council meeting with the 31 addition of Resolution No. 91-047 . 32 33 Motion carried unanimously 34 35 36 37 4 . APPROVAL OF OCTOBER 8 , 1991 COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES 38 39 Motion by Wagner, second by Marks to approve the minutes 40 of the October 8 , 1991 Council Meeting .as presented and 41 there were no corrections . 42 43 Motion carried unanimously 4 1 REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING OCTOBER 22 , 1991 PAGE 2 4 5 6 Introduction of Newly-Hired Police Officer 7 Police Chief Engstrom introduced Police Officer Mark 8 Lebens and his wife , Sarah. 9 10 Officer Lebens has two children, three and seven years 11 old. He received his Associate of Arts Degree from 12 Lakewood Community College and graduated from the Law 13 Enforcement Training Center in Bloomington after 14 completing a Skills Course for Police Officers . 15 16 Chief Engstrom noted that Officer Lebens has received 17 numerous letters of commendation and appreciation from 18 his previous employers as well as citizens whom he has 19 assisted. Officer Lebens served as a volunteer reservist 20 for the City of Roseville and was with the Ramsey County 21 Sheriff ' s Reserve as well . His previous employement was 22 as a security guard at the Har Mar Shopping Center in 23 Roseville. He presently resides with his family in 24 Vadnais Heights . 25 .26 Mayor Ranallo and members of the Council welcomed Officer Lebens to the City . _ Chief Engstrom advised the Council that two occupants 30 will be seen in police cars patrolling the City for a 31 while . One of the occupants will be a police officer and 32 the other will be an officer in training or a reservist . 33 Field officer training is a sixteen week . program. He 34 mentioned this as some residents had questioned having 35 two people riding in patrol cars around the City. 36 37 Award of Bids for Hiahcrest Spillway Improvements 38 Denny Stowe, who prepared the estimates for this project , 39 stated that the bids included a disproportionate estimate 40 and the bids received were twice the estimates . He felt 41 that the project had relatively small quantities involved 42 and there was not much incentive for bidders to bid. Only 43 three bids were received. 44 45 Stowe noted that some of the design features of the 46 project would have required large equipment thereby 47 necessitating additional employees . The hole in the 48 project was designed to be twenty-five feet deep 49 according to OSHA regulations and would required 50 considerable sheeting. The sheeting requirements were 51 dramatically underestimated in the specifications for the 52 project . I REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING OCTOBER 22 , 1991 _ PAGE 3 4 5 6 Stowe recommended that the Council not award the bid. The 7 lowest bid received was $117 , 000 and the estimate was 8 $59, 000 . He stated that there is an alternate design 9 available which he would like to prepare for Council 10 viewing and which would save considerable dollars . It is 11 drafted with "value" engineering and may somewhat change 12 the nature of the design. If the Council rejects the bids 13 received and authorizes a re-design and going out for 14 bids again, Stowe said the re-advertising for bids can be 15 done in approximately three weeks or less . 16 17 Council-member Wagner inquired if there would be any 18 additional charges for the re-design. Stowe responded 19 that the engineering firm will absorb these costs and 20 there will be no additional charges to the City. 21 22 Motion by Marks , second by Fleming to reject the bids 23 received for the Highcrest Spillway Improvement Project . 24 25 26 Motion carried unanimously #9 30 31 PRESENTATION OF PROPOSED 1992 BUDGET BY CITY MANAGER 32 33 Mayor Ranallo advised those in attendance that the date 34 selected for the Public Hearing on the 1992 proposed 35 budget is November 26th. This evening' s presentation is 36 to apprise the residents in St . Anthony of what is being 37 proposed for the 1992 budget and allow for their input . 38 39 The Mayor noted that the time between the public hearing 40 on the 26th and the date for certification of the budget 41 to the State is only about two weeks and would allow 42 little time for comments from the residents . The City 43 Council had requested staff to prepare for an informal 4_4 presentation of the proposed budget . 45 46 All department heads of the City were in attendance at 47 this meeting. The Mayor encouraged those residents at the 48 meeting to direct any questions they might have to the 49 department heads . 50 51 With the use of overhead slides , the City Manager 52 presented the proposed budgets for each department . He noted that the City of St . Anthony is in two counties , Ramsey and Hennepin . He said that the property taxes REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING OCTOBER 22 , 1991 3 PAGE 4 4 5 6 which go to the City in both counties will decrease . 7 8 The overall increase in taxes is 1 . 8% , but the City 9 Council ' s proposed budget for 1992 is exactly the same as 10 the budget for 1991 . Using an overhead slide, the City 11 Manager reviewed all of the entities who receive funding 12 from property taxes and their estimated share of those 13 taxes . 14 15 Mayor Ranallo stated that the only thing which could 16 change the property tax on a given property would be a 17 change in the valuation which is based on the market 18 rate of the home. 19 20 Councilmember Marks observed that the City' s share of the 21 property tax is approximately one-fifth of the total tax . 22 The City Manager agreed and noted that values of land in 23 St . Anthony have increased at the same _rate as home 24 values have decreased. 25 6 A resident expressed concern with the value placed on Apache Plaza Shopping Center . He stated he was made aware _ that the owners of this shopping center had appealed its 29 valuation and it had been reduced. The City Manager 30 stated that this is correct and was made on the basis of 31 low occupancy of the shopping center . This reduction in 32 value cost the City approximately $80 , 000 in taxes. 33 34 The City Manager noted he and others have been meeting 35 with representatives of Apache Plaza regarding the 36 marketing of it and future development . He stated that 37 C. J . Ryan , who owns the shopping center, had indicated 38 there would be some positive changes at the shopping 39 center in the near future. The City Manager noted that 40 representatives of the City Council and of the City staff 41 have been working to improve the center as it is the 42 City' s largest taxpayer. 43 44 The Mayor advised that the shopping center is no longer 45 for sale. He noted that a rental agent is on site all of 46 - the time. The owner is hopeful of securing some public 47 funding to revitalize the center. 48 49 The City Manager stated that seventy-three percent of the 50 City' s budget is made up from property tax . There is not 51 much opportunity for growth as the City is almost completely built up . He noted this lack of growth also impacts on collectable fees such as licenses and permits 54 for contractors . In 1991 , permits were up one percent REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING OCTOBER 22 , 1991 3 PAGE 5 4 5 6 which were mostly for improvements or additions to 7 presently-standing homes or structures . 8 9 It was noted that the Liquor Department is very 10 successful . The Council ' s policy is to use revenues from it the Liquor Fund for capital expenditures . Transferring 12 funds from the liquor reserves is also a tool used by the 13 Council to balance the budget . He noted that some capital 1_4 purchases are being postponed until the fiscal health of 15 City is stable and the State financial crisis has 16 diminished . The City Manager stated that the 6 .-5% sales 17 tax recently passed by both Hennepin and Ramsey Counties 18 will affect the loss of Local Government Aids . LGA was 19 reduced about thirty-five percent which translates into 20 $42 , 507 in dollars lost to the City for 1992 . 21 2_2 Using overhead graphs , the City Manager reviewed all of 23 the General Funds budgets , which are the only budgets 24 supported by tax dollars . 25 6 Those budgets reviewed are as follows : Mayor/Council ; Intergovernmental Relations ; Management ; Elections ; _ Finance/Accounting; Assessing; Legal ;. Civil Defense ; 29 Police Department ; Fire Department ; Inspections/Building 30 Department ;. Animal Control ; Public Works Department ; Tree 31 and Weed Care ; and Park Department . 32 33 The 59 . 8% increase in the Elections budget was due to the 34 additional election (Presidential Primary) and the 35 servicing and maintenance of the voting machines . There 36 was no increase in the Management budget as the 37 Administrative Assistant position in the City Manager ' s 38 office was not filled. The City Building budget is 39 presently running at a deficit but the City Council and 40 the School Board, which are the two entities responsible 41 for funding this building, will be discussing this matter 42 at their next meeting. Mayor Ranallo noted that the ten 43 reserve officers 'for the City are not compensated but 44 their clothing and equipment is supplied. He felt they 45 rendered invaluable service to the City. The recent 46 purchase of park playground equipment was entirely funded 47 by donations from pull tab profits . All of the parks in 48 the City now have new equipment . 49 50 The City Manager felt one of the areas where many cities 51 save a great deal of money is in the consolidation and cooperation agreements they have with other cities . He cited as an example the Haz Mat vehicle which is shared 54 by five cities and was funded by each of these cities in 1 REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING OCTOBER 22 , 1991 PAGE 6 4 5 6 equal shares of one-fifth . He is hopeful that the 7 Legislature recognizes these cooperative efforts between 8 municipalities which have been in place for a long time 9 and are mutually beneficial . 10 11 John Mondatti , 3420 Highcrest , felt the City should put 12 considerable efforts into expanding Apache Plaza and make 13 it more profitable. He referred to a recent article which 14 appeared in the Star Tribune regarding the one-hundred 15 percent o_ccupany rate enjoyed by Har Mar Mall in 16 Roseville. 17 18 Mr. Mondatti was of the opinion that the City Council 19 should become involved with marketing Apache Plaza. He 20 suggested that parking be charged for when used by those 21 who park their cars and ride the MTC buses from the 22 shopping center. Increasing the cash flow and 23 diversification are two areas Mr . Mondatti felt the 24 Council should concentrate on for Apache Plaza to become 25 more successful . 26 Mayor Ranallo stated that the parking lots at Apache are privately-owned and that the City cannot be a party to charging for use of the parking lots . He felt all the 30 Council could justifiably do was to encourage shopping at 31 Apache Plaza . 32 33 Mayor Ranallo commended the City Manager and City staff 34 on the budget presentation . 35 36 5 . LICENSES/PERMIT/PETITIONS 37 38 There were no applications for licenses or permits . 39 40 6 . PRESENTATION OF CLAIMS 41 42 A. Hance & Levahn , Ltd. 43 Motion by Marks , second by Wagner to approve 44 payment in the amount of $2 , 400 . 00 to Hance & 45 LeVahn for legal services rendered relative to St . 46 Anthony prosecutions for the month of October , 47 1991 . 48 49 Motion carried unanimously 50 51 B. Verified Claims 52 Motion by Marks , second by Wagner to approve the four pages of verified claims as presented by the Finance Director . REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING _ OCTOBER 22 , 1991 3 PAGE 7 4 5 6 Motion carried unanimously 7 8 9 10 7 . REPORTS 11 12 A. Council Reports 13 14 Report of Councilmember Wagner 15 Councilmember Wagner received a letter from the athletes 16 from St . Vincent who participated in the Special 17 Olympics . 18 19 They wrote they thoroughly enjoyed their visit and 20 appreciated the hospitalities shown them. 21 22 23 Report of Councilmember Fleming 24 Councilmember Fleming said that the Village Fest meeting 25 originally scheduled for October 14th has been 0 rescheduled for October 28th . 29 Report of Councilmember Marks 30 Councilmember Marks reported that the Sister City report 31 given at the recent Kiwanis meeting was very well 32 presented and very well received. 33 34 35 Report of Mayor Ranallo 36 The Mayor reported he had met with the mayors of New 37 Brighton , Shoreview, and Arden Hills today to discuss 38 matters of mutual interest . Another meeting is scheduled 39 at 5 : 00 until 7 : 30 p.m. on October 28th in the Shoreview 40 City Hall to discuss issues regarding road construction, 41 joint cooperative efforts , consolidation and Local 42 Government Aids . 43 44 Mayor Ranallo reminded the Counc:ilmembers of the Senior 45 Issues Forum on October 28th from 10 : 00 to 11 : 30 at 46 Chandler Place.' This forum is part of the Legislative •47 Mini-Sessions and will be hosted by Representative Mary 48 Jo McGuire. 49 50 The Mayor accompanied a member of SADD (Students Against 51 Drunk Driving) to a Paul Todd Show. He noted that the is student was very impressed. 54 REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING OCTOBER 22 , 1991 3 PAGE 10 4 5 6 9 . NEW BUSINESS 7 8 9 A. Roger Bona, Owner of Unocal 76 on Kenzie Terrace - 10 Discussion Regarding Expansion of Business 11 Mr. Bona was not in attendance at the meeting so there 12 was no discussion . 13 14 15 B. Chandler Drive Pavement Rehabilitation - Change Order #1 16 The City Manager advised there are eleven changes being 17 requested in Change Order # 1 which amounts to an add-on 18 of $21 , 000 . The design of the street has been changed 19 which removed the sharp curve and more sod has been 20 added. Also, it was noted that the new pole barn which 21 was formerly used as the fire station, was originally a 22 significant distance from the street . With the 23 straightening of the street , the pole barn is less than 24 thirty feet from the street but this has been 25 "grandfathered" in . 26 Motion by Wagner, second by Marks to approve Change Order 0_ # 1 . 29 30 31 Motion carried unanimously 32 33 34 . 3_5 10 . UNFINISHED BUSINESS 36 37 A. Ordinance No. 1991-007 ; Re: Amendment to the Fence 38 Ordinance ( second reading) 39 Motion by Wagner, second by Fleming to approve the 40 second reading of Ordinance No. 1991-007 being an 41 ordinance pertaining to fences which are 42 constructed as part of a raised deck; amending. 43 . Section 340 . 10 , Subd. 10 of the 1973 Code of 44 Ordinances . 45 4.6. Motion carried unanimously 47 48 49 There will be a Council work session on November 19th and 50 consideration will be given to a Council work session on 51 November 5th after the Election Canvass meeting. The Council will also consider rescheduling or. cancelling the regular second meeting in December as it falls on Christmas Eve . 54 REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING OCTOBER 22 , 1991 3 PAGE 11 4 5 6 11 . ADJOURNMENT 7 8 Motion by Marks , second by Ranallo to adjourn the meeting at 9 9 : 35 p.m. . 10 11 Motion carried unanimously 12 13 14 15 16 Respectfully submitted, 17 18 19 Jo-Anne Student , Council Secretary 20 21 22 23 ayor Clarence Ranallo 24 25 26 �] ATTEST :- City Clerk