HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC MINUTES 11231993 Meeting Sheet
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Folder: CC MINUTES AND AGENDAS 1993
Document: CC MINUTES 11231993
`1 CITY OF ST. ANTHONY
3 COUNCIL MEETING
4
5 NOVEMBER 23, 1993
6
7
8 I. CALL TO ORDER/PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE.
9
to The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. and the Pledge of Allegiance was led by
11 Mayor Ranallo.
12
13 H. ROLL CALL.
14
15 Council present: Mayor Ranallo and Councilmembers Marks, Enrooth, Fleming and
16 Wagner
17
18 Staff present: City Manager Burt and Management Assistant Bellefuil
19
20 Also present: Dennis Cavanaugh, representing Friends of the Library and requesting
21 to be added to the agenda.
22
0 III. APPROVAL OF NOVEMBER 23, 1993 COUNCIL AGENDA.
24
25 Mayor Ranallo added Mr. Cavanaugh to the agenda second under Section VII Reports.
26
27 Motion by Marks and seconded by Enrooth to approve the November 23, 1993 agenda
28 as amended.
29
30 Motion carried unanimously.
31
32 IV. APPROVAL OF NOVEMBER 9, 1993 COUNCIL MINUTES.
33
34 Motion by.Marks and seconded by Wagner to approve the minutes of the November
35 9, 1993 Council meeting with the following correction:
36
37 Page 6, line 23: The location of the sleigh ride headquarters is the former cheese
38 shop building not the Dairy Queen.
39 Motion carried unanimously.
40
41 V. LICENSES/PERMITS/PETITIONS.
42
43 Motion by Wagner and seconded by Marks to approve the new licenses in the agenda.
•
•
I 10
1 CITY COUNCIL MEETING
2 NOVEMBER 23, 1993
•
3 PAGE 2
4
5
6 VI. PRESENTATION OF CLAIMS.
7
8 Motion by Marks and seconded by Enrooth to approve the following claims:
9
10 A. Hance & LeVahn.
11
12 Payment in the amount of$2,400.00 for professional services rendered for the month
13 of November 1993 relative to St. Anthony prosecutions.
14
15 B. Norwest Banks.
16
17 Payment in the amount of$125.00 for sewer review 10-1-88.
18
19 C. Rieke Carroll Muller Associates, Inc.
20
21 Payment in the amount of$5,758.80 for professional personnel services from
22 September 26, 1993 to October 30, 1993.
�3
24 D. Veesenmeyer Construction, Inc.
25
26 Payment in the amount of$2,400.00 for installation of softcrete play surfacing.
27
28 F. Earl F. Andersen, Inc.
29
30 Payment in the amount of$780.00 for landscape structures.
31
32 G. Verified Claims.
33
34 Approval of the three pages of verified claims as submitted by the Finance Director.
35
36 Motion carried unanimously.
37
38 Motion by Marks and seconded by Enrooth not to make any further payments to W.B.
39 Miller at this time.
40
41 E. W.B. Miller, Inc.
42
43 The City Manager explained that Item E is for W.B. Miller, Inc. which is a contractor
04 on 31st and Croft which is in default of their contract. The City is in the process of
45 hiring someone new to finish the project. The City Manager spoke with the
1 CITY COUNCIL MEETING
02 NOVEMBER 23, 1993
3 PAGE 3
4
5 City Attorney who advised him to put the contractor on notice that the City does not
6 plan to make any further payments due to the fact that the work has not been
7 completed.
8
9 Motion carried unanimously.
10
11 VII. REPORTS.
12
13 A. Ramsey Coun 's Proposed Silver Lake Road Right-of-Way and
14 Landscaping.
15
16 Wayne Leonard appeared on behalf of the Ramsey County Public Works Department
17 requesting a right-of-way acquisition regarding the Silver Lake Road construction
18 project. The City of New Brighton has the majority of the roads in their community
19 and they have employed the firm of SRF to develop the plans. Mr. Leonard presented
20 a right-of-way plan to the Council for their review and approval. He explained they
21 would do what they could regarding the hydraulics around Silver Lake. The Salvation
22 Army Board meets on December 9th and Mr. Leonard would like to make a
03 presentation at that time and thought it would be appropriate to then schedule a public
24 forum meeting.
25
26 Larry Erickson from SRF presented the right-of-way plan and additional plans
27 regarding landscaping. Mr. Erickson displayed color-coded drawings of the project
28 showing the plans starting at Silver Lake Court and widening out to provide a left
29 turn lane at Windsor Lane and also providing a retaining wall at Silver Lake. Mr.
30 Erickson said the water that ran off from Silver Lake onto the road would be taken
31 someplace north and treated.
32
33 Tom Thorson from SRF presented plans to enhance the landscaping and streetscaping
34 in the Silver Lake Road area. He indicated the landscape concept was to enhance and
35 not simply replace the existing landscape which would include adding additional trees
36 and shrubbery. He discussed the first concept for the plantings around the retaining
37 wall and walk way. The second concept would actually pull the walk way out toward
38 the lake creating an overlook on the lakeside which also would free up room for tree
39 plantings between the retaining wall and roadway providing a buffer for pedestrians.
40 Mr. Thorson said the effort regarding the Salvation Army area would be to replace
41 trees with additional tree plantings. Councilmember Marks inquired how many trees
42 would be taken down and Mr. Thorson responded that ten or twelve trees would be
43 taken down and replaced with double to triple the amount of plantings.
�4
61 CITY COUNCIL MEETING
2 NOVEMBER 23, 1993
3 PAGE 4
4
5 Mayor Ranallo asked for any questions regarding this project. Tom Jaszewski, a St.
6 Anthony resident, inquired about the traffic speed and lights on Silver Lake Road.
7 Mayor Ranallo responded that the speed limit would stay the same and Councilmember
8 Fleming indicated the traffic lights would be set differently to benefit those who drive
9 slower and the street lights would also be readjusted.
10
11 Wayne Leonard estimated the cost of the entire right-of-way project somewhere in the
12 vicinity of$350,000 and requested approval from the Council for the right-of-way
13 plan.
14
15 Councilmember Wagner wanted confirmed that the only right-of-way that will be
16 requested is 12,952 square feet of the Salvation Army Camp and the parcels along the
17 camp. Mayor Ranallo indicated he spoke with representative from the Salvation
18 Army Camp and they have no problem with the plan.
19
20 Motion by Marks and seconded by Wagner to approve the right-of-way plan as
21 presented.
22
•3 Motion carried unanimously.
24
25 Mayor Ranallo indicated the Council would not approve the hydrology plan presented
26 at this time until further facts are received by the Council. The City Manager indicated
27 no action was needed until the plan was formally brought to the Council in final form.
28
29 Dennis Cavanaugh - Friends of the Library.
30
31 Mayor Ranallo indicated he had met with each Commissioner individually and said he
32 had no idea of how they would vote. Commissioners Opat and Staples indicated to the
33 Mayor that at this time they would vote against the library. Two of the Commissioners
34 are undecided. Councilmember Fleming had a conversation before the meeting with
35 Commissioner Hilary and it appeared that she had not talked to each of the
36 Commissioners as hoped. Fleming talked with the Commissioner about putting
37 together a resolution letter. [Copies were distributed of the draft at the Council
38 meeting.] Commissioner Fleming indicated the eighth paragraph regarding tangible
39 commodities should be deleted from the resolution. Fleming indicated that there were
40 two separate issues regarding the library. One issue is the use and importance of
41 libraries and the other issue is-about location.
42
CITY COUNCIL MEETING
NOVEMEBER 23, 1993
3 PAGE 5
4
5 Mayor Ranallo would like to add to the resolution a paragraph indicating the economic
6 impact on the shopping center. Judy Makowske, a resident, wanted to include public,
7 private and parochial schools. She also felt it should read "Be it resolved that the City
8 of St. Anthony supports Sandra Hilary's amendment to modify the budget" rather than
9 "the Hennepin County Commissioners".
10
11 It was also suggested to add to the resolution that the utilization of the St. Anthony
12 library was much higher than other three libraries proposed to be closed.
13
14 Motion by Fleming and seconded by Marks to approve the resolution as amended.
15
16 Motion carried unanimously.
17
18 Councilmember Marks urged all the different groups including the Council, Friends of
19 the Library and the community to pull together regarding this issue and join forces to
20 have more resources.
21
22 Councilmember Fleming will remain in contact with the Ann Fisker, who is the
Chairperson of the Friends of the Library.
24
25 Dennis Cavanaugh asked to be put on the agenda because he felt the Commissioners
26 were running out of time for the library to be put into the budget. He inquired if there
27 was anything else that could be done besides petitions, phone calls, visits, etc. to get
28 support for the library. During his conversation with Commissioner Hilary she
29 indicated she was going to put $250,000 in the resolution. Mr. Cavanaugh indicated
30 the budget this year was only $233,000.
31
32 Mayor Ranallo indicated the Council had spoken with Senator Marty and
33 Representative McGuire. Councilmember Fleming indicated Minneapolis City
34 Councilmember Dziedzic sent a letter supporting the library to the Commissioners.
35
36 A member of the audience said she had heard from a number of people from
37 Minneapolis that the problem of being supportive as a Minneapolis resident is that they
38 felt they should not use the St. Anthony library and instead they should be using the
39 Minneapolis library. She stated as a taxpaying issue that would be true but as
40 supporting the community that point should be moot. She felt rallying the Northeast
41 area would be beneficial.
42
43 Chuck Haik, a resident, said he felt there were two issues which needed to be
Waddressed. One, the closing of a valuable resource, and two, the economic viability of
I CITY COUNCIL MEETING
02 NOVEMBER 23, 1993
3 PAGE 6
4
5 the St. Anthony Shopping Center. He thought the library pulls people in because it is
6 there and should be a concern for property values. Mr. Haik indicated his frustration
7 trying to get through to the Commissioners who he felt did not even recognize St.
8 Anthony Village.
9
10 Dennis Cavanaugh discussed the possibility of litigation and Friends of the Library's
11 retention of an attorney in case the resolution wasn't voted in. He said he hasn't
12 received a written statement as to why the library is being closed. The facts which
13 have been presented regarding under-utilization are incorrect. He wanted to know if'
14 the Council would be interested in joining forces to pursue any avenues to obtain a fair
15 hearing.
16
17 The City Manager said Dennis Cavanaugh had telephoned him to request the City make
18 a donation to the Friends of the Library. Anytime the City gives a donation, the
19 Council must determine if it would be in the best interest of the taxpayers. He
20 indicated when the City enters litigation the taxpayers end up paying for it. The City
21 Manager discussed taking legal action with the City Attorney who indicated that it
22 would be very difficult to accomplish. They discussed distribution of equity of service
*3 and the City Attorney said it would take some research to get to that point because the
24 City could be breaking new ground. The Northern Mayor's Association was using this
25 issue as an argument for some time with the development going on in the southern
26 metro areas compared to the northern metro area. Here we have a situation with the
27 County where all the development takes place west and nothing on the east side. The
28 City Manager did not ask the City Attorney.to begin the next step of research because
29 he did not have Council approval.
30
31 Councilmember Marks suggested thinking about alternative plans of reestablishing a
32 new library that might also involve litigation requiring the County to take the levy that
33 would normally go towards supporting the library locally and turning it back to St.
34 Anthony so that would cover part of the cost. He discussed operating costs of the
35 library and suggested the new location of the library could possibly be put into City
M Hall.
37
38 Councilmember Fleming said she felt if they failed at all it would be in selling the fact
39 that the County library is the best return for the dollar and that is what she saw as the
40 most serious part of the issue and felt it was missed on all levels.
41
42 Bob Thistle, Vice President of Springsted, Inc., indicated the communities that have
43 their own libraries are exempted from making contributions to the County library
�4 system.
I CITY COUNCIL MEETING
•2 NOVEMBER 23, 1993
3 PAGE 7
4
5 Judy Makowske wanted to bring to the Council's attention the fact that the people felt
6 slighted because no notification of the closing of the library was given prior to the
7 newspaper article. She felt politically the Council should have been first notified so
8 they didn't have to learn of it from residents calling or the newspaper. She felt Bob
9 Rolfe, the library director, was using this issue to put something unpopular on the
10 chopping block to get extra money out of it. The library system and the County are
11 getting more money this year. The library budget has increased by four percent. She
12 stated there was no conceivable reason why they should take something away when the
13 usage has increased and the population hasn't changed. Mayor Ranallo indicated he
14 had indicated his displeasure to Commissioner Hilary on how the library closure was
15 communicated to the Council.
16
17 Mr. Cavanaugh requested the Council instruct the staff to have the City Attorney start
18 doing legal research regarding other libraries. He would like to know what policies
19 and procedures the County uses to make decisions. The City Manager felt that the
20 Friends of the Library attorney would be better suited economically to perform the
21 research.
22
03 The City Manager indicated some research had already been performed but it would be
24 a matter of assembling the information and he thought both the City and Friends of the
25 Library should get an estimate on how much additional work would cost. Mr.
26 Cavanaugh indicated Friends of the Library had collected about $650.00 in
27 contributions.
28
29 Mary Ann Kofski, a resident, said she was disturbed that other business owners from
30 the shopping center were not involved and wondered if all the business owners had
31 been contacted. She felt the larger stores should be urged to go to their home offices
32 for support. Tom Jaszewski, another resident of the City, said he did talk with many
33 of the local businesses in the shopping center but not their corporate offices.
34
35 Brad Bjorklund, a resident, urged the Council to take more effective ways to alert the
36 community of the serious nature of the library closing. He said he didn't receive any
37 notification of the library or any meetings regarding the closure. He said he was
38 informed of the library by the article in the newspaper.
39
40 Councilmember Marks suggested getting press attention at the next meeting perhaps by
41 bringing children in on school buses to attract the media's attention.
42
43 Mayor Ranallo indicated the St. Anthony library was used more than other libraries.
Q4 Dennis Cavanaugh said the the St. Anthony library has 61,000 circulations per square
5 foot. He felt St. Anthony was not the library which statistics indicated should be
I CITY COUNCIL MEETING
•2 NOVEMBER 23, 1993
3 PAGE 8
4
5 closed and he felt that library was being discriminated against.
6
7 Jerry Kelly, Jerry's Toys & Hobbies, stated that the center does pay $130,000 in taxes
8 per year and if there is less traffic there will be less stores which will result in less tax
9 money. He would like to see the landlord and merchants interested.
10
11 B. Council.
12
13 Clarence Ranallo.
14
15 The Mayor received a letter from the Salvation Army thanking him, City Manager and
16 Councilmember Wagner for attending the opening ceremony. The money that is made
17 at the facility goes directly to an adult male rehabilitation center. They have two other
18 facilities set up to benefit adult female rehabilitation centers.
19
20 The Mayor confirmed the breakfast for employees will be on Thursday, December 16th
21 beginning at 7:00 A.M..
22
03 George Wagner.
24
25 Councilmember Wagner attended a Kwanias meeting where the Systems Engineer and
26 Director of Engineering for the Metro Waste Control Commission spoke regarding
27 progress in building facilities. He said from the engineering point of view it was
28 extremely interesting.
29
30 Councilmember Wagner attended the Ramsey County League of Governments. The
31 vote passed 12-1 in favor of asking the Legislature to do something about crime and
32 gun violence. He said the most interesting part of the meeting was called "What Local
33 Leaders Should Know About Young People and their Concerns". Ten high school
34 students from Ramsey County spoke regarding their own problems, feelings and
35 concerns. He felt the strongest point the kids made as the cause of many problems was
36 because of broken families.
37
38 Councilmember Wagner had an opportunity to speak with a citizen regarding taxes
39 where he took notes which he will pass along to the City Manager. Mayor Ranallo
40 said that the reason for the 10.8% increase was the devaluation of the commercial
41 property.
42
43 Dorothy Fleming.
Q4
5 Nothing.
I CITY COUNCIL MEETING
92 NOVEMBER 23, 1993
3 PAGE 9
4
5
6 Richard Enrooth.
7
8 The Environmental Recycling Committee's tour of the Hert facility was cancelled
9 because of a breakdown and will be rescheduled in the future. He urged other
10_ councilmembers.to go through the facility on the tour.
11'
12 George Marks.
13
14 Nothing.
15
16 C. City Manager.
17
18 1. Upcoming Council Meetings:
19
20 a. November 30, 1993 Public Hearing on 1994 City Budget and
21 Property Tax Levy.
22
9-23 The City Manager pointed out his memo regarding the budget presentation. He said he
4 will go through a summary sheet at the meeting and police expenditures because there
25 has been questions and by law he is required review salaries, talking about projected
26 increase and what is budgeted.
27
28 b. Reschedule December 14, 1993 Meeting to December 13,
29 1993.
30
31 The continued Truth and Taxation Hearing is scheduled for Monday, December 13.
32
33 Motion by Marks and seconded by Wagner to move the council meeting scheduled for
34 Tuesday, December 14 to Monday, December 13 at 7:00 p.m.
35
36 Motion carried unanimously.
37
38 VII. PUBLIC HEARINGS.
39
40 None.
41
42
43
Q
4
5
I CITY COUNCIL MEETING
* 2 NOVEMBER 23, 1993
3 PAGE 10
4
5 IX'. NEW BUSINESS.
6
7 A. Resolution 93-065 re: Refinancing $235,000 General Obligation Tax
8 Increment Refunding Bonds.
9
10 Robert Thistle, Vice President of Springsted reviewed the recommendation submitted
11 to the Council regarding the refunding of the 1985A tax increment bonds. Springsted
12 is proposing to refund the remaining $215,000 for the bonds. The purpose is to take
13 advantage of the lower interest rates. The current interest rate is 8.69% and
14 Springsted is estimating a reduction to approximately 4.11% based on the current
15 market for an estimated savings of $27,400.
16
17 Motion by Wagner and seconded by Enrooth to approve the refinancing of Resolution
18 93-065.
19
20 Motion carried unanimously.
21
22 X. UNFINISHED BUSINESS.
23
04 None.
25
26 XI. ADJOURNMENT.
27
28 Motion by Marks and seconded by Fleming to adjourn the meeting at 8:55 p.m.
29
30 Motion carried unanimously.
31
32
33 Respectfully submitted,
34
35
36
37 Margaret A. Noyd
38 Council Secretary
39
40
41
42 Mayor Clarence Ra to
43
44 ATTEST:
45 City Clerk
106