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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC MINUTES 10251977 Meeting Sheet IIIIII ILII VIII VIII VIII VIII IIII IIII 105577 Box: 35 Folder: CC MINUTES AND AGENDAS 1977 Document: CC MINUTES 10251977 • CITY OF ST. ANTHONY COUNCIL MINUTES October 25, 1977 The meeting was called to order by Mayor Miedtke at 7: 35 p.m. Present for roll call: Sauer, Stauffer, Miedtke, Haik and Sundland. Also present: Jim Fornell, City Manager William Soth, City Attorney Motion by Councilman Sundland and seconded by Councilman Stauffer to approve the minutes for the October 11 , 1977 Council meeting as written. Motion carried unanimously. Mr. Soth suggested the resolution relating to deferment of special assessments for persons 65 years and over be modified to identify the eligible applicant as the "owner of the property" rather than "title- holder" . • Motion by Councilman Haik and seconded by Councilman Sundland to adopt Resolution 77-051 as modified by the City Attorney. RESOLUTION 77-051 A RESOLUTION RELATING TO DEFERMENT OF SPECIAL ASSESSMENTS FOR PERSONS 65 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER AND ESTABLISHING AN INTEREST RATE Motion carried unanimously. Motion by Councilman Sauer and seconded by Councilman Sundland to adopt the resolution which authorizes the transfer of C.E.T.A. reimbursements to the wage and salaries disbursement accounts . RESOLUTION 77-052 A RESOLUTION MODIFYING THE 1977 BUDGET Motion carried unanimously. Motion by Councilman Haik and seconded by Councilman Stauffer to adopt the resolution officially adopting the 1978 operating budget. RESOLUTION 77-053 A RESOLUTION ADOPTING THE 1978 CITY BUDGET • Motion carried unanimously. Motion by Councilman Sundland and seconded by Councilman Stauffer to • adopt Resolution 77-054. RESOLUTION 77-054 A RESOLUTION APPROVING THE SALE OF PLAT 63680 , PARCEL 3300 Before voting on the motion the question was raised whether a lot 45 . 5 x 124.49 could ever be built on. Mayor Miedtke said the size was probably grandfathered in when the new City Zoning Ordinance was adopted and if the lot is built on it will provide tax revenue for the City. The Manager said the Ordinance requires that such a lot as this corner property must be at least 2/3 the size of that which would be allowed by the lot size requirements. The Mayor also questioned whether the lot' s location at 37th and Roose- velt would be appropriate for a mini-park. Councilman Sauer suggested Council members look at the property before making a decision. He thought the City might want to purchase the property to prevent it being built on. Consideration of how such a purchase could be funded could also be made in the interim. Motion by Councilman Sauer and seconded by Councilman Stauffer to table action on Resolution No. 77-054. • Motion to table carried unanimously. George Marks reported actions taken and recommendations made by the Planning Board during their meeting October 11 , 1977. He said the Board recommended a building permit be granted for a 6 , 000 square foot office building proposed to be built for Comstrand Corpor- ation, Inc. , on the southwest corner of the St. Anthony Office Park. Harry Schroeder, Project Architect, presented the plans for the one story, wood building which will be sprinklered and of which 5, 000 square feet will be reserved for speculative rental for which he anticipated low occupancy. The 31 parking accomodations exceed the number required by the Zoning Ordinance and Mr. Schroeder said there will be diminutive signage for the building. Mr. Marks said the Board felt this building would be a good addition to the park. In discussing the landscaping plans he pointed out the length of time which had elapsed before the landscaping had been completed as agreed upon for the Auto Body on the property adjoining this lot and said the Board felt that this was just another incident where a Certi- ficate of Occupancy might have been a useful vehicle for assuring that the landscaping was completed before the building was occupied. Motion by Councilman Sundland and seconded by Councilman Haik to grant • a building permit which will allow the Comstrand building to be con- structed as proposed on Lot 8, Block 1, St. Anthony Office Park, subject (2) • to final review of the landscaping and signage by the Planning Board. Motion carried unanimously. Mr. Fornell then told the Council there was some question regarding the title to the property since the easterly 70 feet had been dedicated to the Leslie Paper Company and Gay Realty had been unsuccessful in having the parcel along with the rest of the office park replatted. The Mayor said the City has insisted that all property be platted when conveyed and moved that condition to the approval . Motion by Mayor Miedtke and seconded by Councilman Haik that the approval of the Comstrand building permit will be subject to the condition that there will be no occupancy until the property is properly replatted. Motion carried unanimously. Councilman Sauer indicated his interest in having a Certificate of Occupancy developed and Councilman Stauffer said she thought such a document would have been a useful tool for assuring better maintenance of the "property at 39th and Silver Lake Road" . The Manager said the certificate will also provide the City an opportu- nity to review new tenants as to their conformance to the City 's re- quirements for parking and fire safety. • Mr. Marks will convey the Council's interest in having such a document written for their consideration. The Planning Board representative then reported the Board is holding a special session November lst to select from the planning firms they had interviewed October 18th, the firm who will make the Commercial Areas Study. Council members felt the interest shown by City residents regarding the upgrading of the St. Anthony Shopping Center indicated an urgency for action to be taken in this regard. Plans for the shelter structure to be erected in Central Park were pre- sented by the Manager who reported that Constructive Design, Inc. , had prepared them for an amount under the $500 which had been authorized by the Council. Motion by Councilman Sundland and seconded by Councilman Sauer to approve the design for the shelter structure to be built in Central Park. Motion carried unanimously. It was agreed that having the neighbors review the plans would delay an immediate start on construction. The October 10th comments from the Chairman of the Community Services Advisory Council regarding other uses of Community Development Funds • was discussed but it was the consensus that there should be no change (3) in the Council' s previous decision that the City cannot afford the • recommended lighting of the pathways through the park. Councilman Sauer responded to Councilman Haik's request that the Com- munity Services committee present a "completely new slate of objectives" by saying that the group under the direction of Tom McMullen would be making long range park and recreation area planning. A desire to follow through on Chief Hickerson's October 20th recom- mendations regarding traffic control and signage in the area of the railroad crossing on Stinson Boulevard prompted the following motion: Motion by Councilman Haik ,and seconded by Councilman Stauffer to table action on participation in an activated railroad crossing warning de- vice on Stinson Boulevard so that the Manager may approach Columbia Heights regarding the placement of the stop sign at 37th Place N.E. , which has been recommended by the Police Department. Motion to table carried unanimously. The Police Chief' s report of October 21st regarding the events surround- ing the egg fight at the high school, October 12th, was then discussed with two residents, Earl Wethe of Skycroft Drive and Bernie Haugan who lives on 33rd Avenue, whose homes were damaged during the melee. Mr. Wethe said he was present "to find out what is being done about the • problem on Skycroft" referring to the October 12th incident as well as problems which he and his neighbors have experienced with unruly youths who frequent school property near their homes. He said the situation regarding "distribution and drinking of booze had settled down somewhat" and "the crowds of juveniles frequenting the area had also somewhat diminished but told of the extensive damage to his home which he had experienced the night of the egg fight. He wondered why the police force was not sufficiently staffed to protect the residents that night and why there were no cameras nor tear gas provided the two officers who responded to the call for aid from residents . Mr. Wethe said the eventuality of rocks, eggs, apples and tomatoes being exchanged by the juveniles and retaliating residents were frightening to the extent he didn't "intend to be around" for the next confrontation and wondered what plans are being made to avoid a similar incident next year. His suggestion was to cancel homecoming events at the school as had been done at other schools. The complainant expressed his disappointment in the lack of interest the School Board had shown to him and his neighbors regarding the damage done to their property and said he was further irritated by the response he had gotten from the high school principal who inquired whether the damage was covered by homeowner ' s insurance. Mr. Bernie Haugan echoed Mr. Wethe's resentment of "having to babysit his home" and said he had a permanent stain on his siding from the eggs • (4) • thrown there. He felt "this is the time to put a stop to this ridicu- lous tradition" . He saw a lack of commitment to stop this type of action and felt there should be more forceful action taken in the future. He questioned whether the juveniles who pelted the police and squad cars could not have been prosecuted for "assault against a police officer" and wondered if the offenders could not have been "detained in a temporary detention center and released to their parents" , if the City police were too short handed to take them to the Juvenile Center? The Manager had given his prospective of the event to the Council in his October 14th memorandum and reiterated his explanation that he had not authorized an increase in police manpower that evening because neither the police, school officials nor he had anticipated the situation with the egg fight would get out of hand the way it did, He felt a $400 price tag for the necessary 32 hours of overtime was an unreasonable subsidy of the tradition. Councilman Stauffer said she could not see the solution as a police problem but rather a discipline problem and one of parenting. She later said the school hadn't asked the City for help and had followed the recommendations of a parents ' group which had advised against offering other school activities as alternatives to the egg fight. Councilman Haik felt the Police Department should have been able to make some identifications of the law breakers and contended there should be some "naming of these kids and social pressure built up to make such • behavior unacceptable" . Mayor Miedtke agreed that the Police Department would probably concede that some other action should have been taken that night and hoped the two C.E.T.A. additions to the department who will be working in the schools will open communications between the police and the students and will be able to provide a greater involvement with the elementary grade children. He did not feel the City was in a position to take any action regarding the school 's handling of the situation and he agreed with the principal that "it is not fair to cut off all homecoming activities since 100 of the students were involved in the incident" . The Mayor commended the Manager and Councilman Stauffer for their letters to the editors which conveyed the City' s reaction to the "inap- propriate remarks" from a Minneapolis alderman regarding the City' s rightful use of peacekeeping forces from other municipalities under the Mutual Aid Agreement. A listing of incidents in which the City assisted the Minneapolis Police Department this year was submitted to justify this contention. Councilman Sundland suggested an "auxiliary (reserve) police force" might be a solution to aid the Police Department in similar emergencies in the future. He felt both parents and youths must have input in any solution and was especially concerned that the lines of communication be kept open between the school and City officials . He wanted a plan • (5) • of action formulated early next year to cope with any repetition of this year' s problems and saw this as an alternative to cutting off the homecoming events altogether. Larry Hamer' s report of extensive vandalism to City property was con- sidered and the incidents of harassment of Maintenance Department employees near the school were discussed. Motion by Councilman Sundland and seconded by Councilman Haik to re- quest that the District #282 School Board meet with the Council the first week in February to consider recommendations from both staffs as to what can be done to avoid a recurrence of the events surrounding this year's egg fight, establish better communications between the school and the City in advance of such events , and minimize the vanda- lism by juveniles in the community. Motion carried unanimously. Motion by Councilman Stauffer and seconded by Mayor Miedtke to direct the City Manager to have the information contained in the October 21st report from the Police Chief as well as Superintendent of Public Works ' October 21st report on destruction of park maintenance building and equipment relayed to the School Board of District #282. Motion carried unanimously. • The meeting was recessed from 9 : 10 p.m. to 9 : 28 p.m. Motion by Councilman Haik and seconded by Councilman Stauffer to approve the Winter Maintenance Agreement with Ramsey County for $720 . 00. Motion carried unanimously. The Council then considered the protest from Sunset Memorial Park' s attorney of the special assessments for Storm Sewer Project 1974-1 as they had been levied against the cemetery. The counsel said the cemetery had filed an appeal of these assessments in 1974 and were seeking a compromise with the City on the amount still due. Mr. Fornell explained how the City had determined the cemetery's share of the costs of the sewer enlargement along Highway 8 and said the cemetery had not been assessed any of the costs of the lateral line which serviced the residential properties . In response to Councilman Stauffer's questioning whether the City's method of assessing would stand up in court, Mr. Soth outlined the procedures which can be expected in such a litigation. He told her the Court will determine whether the City' s methods are reasonable and ap- propriate but said he believed the judge would be reluctant to overturn a municipality' s right to assess unless those assessments were proved to be unreasonable. • (6) • Councilman Stauffer said before a decision is made she wanted further information regarding any legal precedents for the City' s method of assessments as well as an assessment of what the legal costs of de- fending those methods might be and made a motion to that effect. How- ever, her motion died for lack of a second. Motion by Mayor Miedtke and seconded by Councilman Sauer to request the Manager to indicate to Sunset Memorial the City ' s unwillingness to renegotiate the assessment for the storm sewer which had been levied in 1974 because the Council feels the assessment as levied was a fair one. Motion carried unanimously. Councilman Stauffer felt the north entrance to the gymnasium would be the best location for erecting the ramps for the handicapped which are required for the November 8th election. Motion by Councilman Sundland and seconded by Councilman Stauffer to approve the expenditure from the Council ' s Contingency Fund for the ramps as required at the polling places . Motion carried unanimously. The Council saw no action required at this time regarding the possible prohibition of certain equipment for elections by the Minnesota Legis- lature, but directed the Manager to follow the proposed legislation. The Manager could see only a marginal benefit to the City of contribut- ing to the North Suburban Development Achievement Center since there are only two residents reported to be participating in the program. However, Councilman Sauer said he saw a definite need for such a program and said he favored granting a good proportion of the amount which had been requested. He wondered "if the municipalities won 't support such activities, who will?" Motion by Councilman Sauer and seconded by Councilman Sundland to authorize a contribution of $716. 00 be made to the North Suburban De- velopment Achievement Center from the Council's 1977 Contingency Fund, if available, if not, from the 1978 budget. Motion carried unanimously. Councilman Haik was interested in knowing why the State is not providing adequate support for the project and was concerned that the City's support might only prolong the problem and delay the time when the State fulfills its responsibilities to provide such services. Motion by Councilman Sundland and seconded by Councilman Haik to request the Manger to contact the City' s representatives in the State Legisla- ture and the two county commissioners to inform them that the City is • (7) • participating in this program this year but to suggest more support for this type of service should be coming from the State and counties . Motion carried unanimously. Notification of the award of the C.E.T.A. grant for a Public Safety Action Program to the City was filed. Motion by Councilman Sauer and seconded by Councilman Haik to authorize the advertising for bids for the addition to the Public Works Department building. Motion carried unanimously. Councilman Stauffer requested that the Police Department resume its practice of providing a listing of juvenile crimes in its monthly re- ports and the September report was filed. The September Fire Department report and the Collateral Report from the Clerk/Treasurer were filed. Motion by Councilman Sundland and seconded by Councilman Haik to approve the execution of the 1977-78 liquor employees contracts. Motion carried unanimously. • The inadequacy of the Emerald Park facilities as a polling place, especially in inclement weather, prompted the Council direction that the Manager review different locations at Apache for a polling place for the next election. The Council gave wholehearted approval to the Mayor ' s suggestion that a donated flag pole be erected in the planting area near the intersec- tion of Highway 8 and St. Anthony Boulevard. He also suggested some other Council member might want to use the reservation made in his name for the League of National Cities meeting on December 4th. Methods of informing residents of the parking restrictions which go into effect November 1st were again discussed. The memo regarding Police Department overtime was filed. Motion by Councilman Haik and seconded by Councilman Sundland to grant a car starting license to St. Anthony Standard. Motion carried unanimously. Motion by Councilman Sundland and seconded by Councilman Sauer to ap- prove payment of all Verified Claims listed in the October 25, 1977 Agenda. • Motion carried unanimously. (8) Motion by Councilman Stauffer and seconded by Mayor Miedtke to approve payment to the School District #282 of $4 , 795. 71 for the utilities for City Hall. Motion carried unanimously. Motion by Councilman Sauer and seconded by Councilman Haik to adjourn the meeting at 10 :00 p.m. Motion carried unanimously. Mayor ATTEST: V-q, City Clerk • • (9)