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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC MINUTES 05311977 Meeting Sheet IIIIIIVIIIVIIIVIIIVIIIVIII IIIIIIII iosssa Box: 35 Folder: CC MINUTES AND AGENDAS 1977 Document: CC MINUTES 05311977 CITY OF ST. ANTHONY COUNCIL MINUTES May 31, 1977 The meeting was called to order at 7 : 35 P.M. by Donna Stauffer, Mayor Pro Tem. Present for roll call: Sauer, Stauffer and Haik Absent: Sundland and Miedtke Also present: Jerry Dulgar, City Manager Larry Vickrey, City Attorney Motion by Councilman Haik and seconded by Councilman Sauer to approve the minutes for the May 10, 1977 Council meeting . Motion carried unanimously. Richard Letourneau representing the Planning Board, presented the actions taken and recommendations to the Council as presented in the minutes of the Board' s May 17 , 1977 meeting. He said the Board took no official action on the request from the Gay Realty Company for two buildings to be constructed in the St. An- thony Office Park since the staff had no opportunity to study the plans to ascertain whether they conformed to City requirements. However, the Board members had indicated to the applicants that there was basic agreement with the concept for the buildings as presented. Mr. Dulgar said no formal application for the proposal had been sub- mitted to date, though the applicants had discussed their plans with the staff several times. Mr. Letourneau then informed the Council that the Public Hearing on the Development Concept Plan for the proposed Hedlund PUD had not been held because all submission requirements had not been met. Ken Hiebel, Chairman of the Board, was also present and said a Public Hearing on the PUD was possible for the next Board meeting if all effectuating documents are submitted by the deadline of June 6th. Lacking four members, the Council could take no formal action regard- ing the request from Legion Post Number 513 for a Conditional Use Permit to allow an unspecified number of campers to camp adjacent to the Legion Hall on Kenzie Terrace. In view of the concept approval from the Council and the Board' s recommendation of approval, the Council and the Attorney were in agreement that the matter could be dealt with during the Council/Board dinner meeting June 6th. • Councilman Haik said she wanted written agreements regarding police security, rubbish disposal and sanitary systems for this and any future requests for similar activities. Motion by Councilman Stauffer and seconded by Councilman Sauer to table action on the request from the St. Anthony Legion until June 6, 1977 . Motion carried unanimously. (The Council later acted on the request after Mayor Miedtke arrived) .- The Planning Board representative said it was the Board's recommenda- tion that the Free Standing Sign policy formulated by Mr. Fornell should be adopted to be applied when variances to the City ' s Sign Ordinance are requested. Mr. Hiebel said these guidelines were viewed by the Board as only an interim step to be taken until such time as the entire sign ordinance can be brought up to date. Councilman Sauer wanted the matter to be one of those to be discussed with the City Attorney during the June 6th dinner meeting. It will also be formally discussed at a future Council meeting. Motion by Councilman Haik and seconded by Councilman Sauer to adopt the resolution which will permit the City to join the International City Management Association Deferred Compensation Plan with provision for voluntary participation by employees. • RESOLUTION 77-027 A RESOLUTION WHICH WILL PERMIT THE CITY TO JOIN THE INTERNATIONAL CITY MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION DEFERRED COMPENSATION PLAN Motion carried unanimously. Motion by Councilman Haik and seconded by Councilman Sauer to approve the resolution which will allow the transfer of sign reimbursement monies from the State of Minnesota into the Sign Account in the Maintenance Department budget. RESOLUTION 77-028 A RESOLUTION MODIFYING THE 1977 BUDGET Motion carried unanimously. Motion by Councilman Sauer and seconded by Councilman Haik to adopt the resolution which will allow the transfer of monies received from Columbia Heights and School District #282 for gasoline into the Transportation and Garage budget. RESOLUTION 77-029 A RESOLUTION MODIFYING THE 1977 BUDGET • Motion carried unanimously. (2) Mr. Dulgar and Mr. Vickrey then gave the reasons they felt Ordinance 435 dealing with the parking of trailers and trailer camps in the City should be repealed. The Attorney said the Conditional Use Permit under the City Zoning Ordinance provides a better vehicle for handling such requests . The matter was continued to the next Council Agenda. The Council postponed consideration of wind screens and tennis courts until Community Service representatives arrived. The Attorney said there is no provision in the City Ordinance for extending the Conditional Use Permit to First American Care Facilities which expired May 24, 1977 . Mr. Hiebel will try to clarify during the PUD hearing whether the retirement apartments proposed to be built by First American are still part of the current plans for the Hedlund property. Mr. Vickrey advised that the request for reconsideration of a variance request from Berger Transfer should be referred back to the Planning Board because there are changes in the plans for front yard set back. However, Mr. Dircks of Berger and the contractor, Mr. Murlowski of Belaire Builders were allowed to discuss their plans to expand Berger 's existing building on 37th Avenue with the understanding that no formal action could be taken. H. J. Osekowsky, 3428 Skycroft Drive, identified himself as the • spokesman for the 91 Skycroft residents who signed the petition re- questing the intersection of Skycroft Drive with Maplewood Drive be closed off by the City as a traffic control measure. He said the use of Skycroft as a throughfare and race track by young transients as well as deliberate vandalism, speeding and liquor law violations by these juveniles and young adults both on the street and in the bleacher areas of nearby school property, had prompted this action. Mr. Osekow- sky said the petitioners wanted all access to the park from Skycroft cut off except to bicycle and foot traffic with allowance made for only maintenance vehicles. He felt the measures would be an effective way of dealing with the problem and, in the long run, would benefit the community as a whole. Mayor Miedtke arrived at 8: 15 P.M. but Councilman Stauffer continued to chair the meeting. Mr. Wethe told of "booze runners" who are operating out of cars and vans in the area and said he has identified many of the licenses of such vehicles as belonging to "outsiders who are not from Skycroft" and said conversations he had with one police officer led him to think the police are afraid to confront the culprits unless they actually witness a law being broken. Mr. Dulgar said he has talked to the Police -Department about their follow-up of licenses which have been referred to them by residents and said some contact has been made with parents of the offenders • (3) • thus identified. He felt that in most cases the parents will deal with the juveniles more severely than will the juvenile courts. He and the City Attorney agreed that an officer can' t do anything about a misdemeanor unless he witnesses it. Mr. Vickrey gave the required procedures, as he knew them, for apprehending and prosecuting juven- iles for such alleged violations including citizens arrests. Council- man Haik said that though she was not suggesting citizens arrests, it was very important that the residents furnish the police with specific and accurate information on which they can act. Several people including Mr. Lindskog and Mr. Pulscher agreed that the stop signs which wereinstall-edon Skycroft were not alleviating the speeding problem. Mr. Pulscher said he felt there was a diminished interest by the City staff towards the problem and said he was not interested in knowing the reasons the police have for not being able to correct the problem but wanted positive, immediate recommendations from the staff for ways of diminishing the harassment of the neighbor- hood and suggested one of these should be a temporary closing of the street. Mr. McReavy pointed out how quiet the neighborhood was where Council- man Stauffer and Mayor Miedtke lived, since Rankin Road was closed off on one end. Councilman Stauffer told him that that street had been closed off because five streets converged at that point and not as a convenience for the residents. • She then reported that four residents had called her to protest the possibility of Skycroft being closed off. She said she felt the conditions in the Skycroft neighborhood involved four separate and separable problems, i.e. , driving, drinking by underage youths, illegal drinking on school property and outsiders bringing alcoholic beverages into the area. Merle R. Durban, 3405 36th Avenue N.E. , questioned closing off Skycroft saying "Whether we can control drag racing by plugging streets and stop signs is debatable" . D. R. Luke, 3507 Skycroft, was concerned that blocking the intersection might hinder emergnecy services by the Fire Department ambulances. -However, he shared the concern about the safety of the small children on the street and felt the residents weren' t getting proper coopera- tion from the City Police. John Soya said he and a few of his neighbors on Maplewood who were present did not believe closing one street and thereby channeling traffic onto other streets would solve the problem but felt the police should provide better survelliance of the area. Mayor Miedtke then advised the residents that any major improvement such as a cul-de-sac could not be considered this year because by resolution, any improvements in the City must be requested before • March 15th and the construction season is well under way. He shared the concern about interference with passage of emergency vehicles, which he said might be considered a "detriment to the health, safety (4) • and general welfare of the community" . The Mayor then moved that the staff be directed to come back June 14th with a report on what actions the Police Department is taking to alleviate the problem on Skycroft but failed to get a second for his motion. Councilman Sauer wanted a committee formed of residetns, Council members and staff which could provide input to the report asked for by the Mayor. Councilman Stauffer wanted the residents involved in any study as well and said she wanted an opportunity to talk with the police about the complaints which had been made against them. Councilman Haik wanted to discuss the problem with the staff before the residents are involved so they could give their recommendations for some alternative to barricading Skycroft. Motion by Councilman Haik and seconded by Mayor Miedtke to direct the staff to return to the Council in two weeks with suggestions how to handle the traffic and drinking problems evidenced in the area of Skycroft Drive. Voting on the motion: Aye: Haik and Miedtke Nay: Stauffer and Sauer • Motion not carried. Mayor Miedtke then said he hoped the matter could be resolved to everyone's satisfaction but felt any interference with the movement of traffic in this area would have an effect on the entire City and felt the City Engineer should be included in any discussion of such a proposal. Motion by Councilman Stauffer and seconded by Councilman Sauer to direct the Manager to ascertain the reaction of the staff including the Police Department and the City Engineer to the proposal presented in the petition from the Skycroft residents and to seek counter pro- posals from them as to how to handle the problems involved. Their recommendations will be considered by the Council during their meeting June 14th. Motion carried unanimously. Ruth Hultgren, 3400 Croft Drive, then discussed a related problem involving a reported "kegger party" in Central Park involving minors. She posed several questions to the Council saying they represented "a growing concern of parents with lack of law enforcement" . She wanted to know why only two policemen responded to the disturbance call, why more minors aren 't arrested and more parents made aware of (5) what their children are doing. She also questioned why the curfew • isn' t enforced. Mrs. Hultgren then relayed reported sale of beer to minors without I.D. at the 7-11 and Purity stores and the Apache Liquor Store. She concluded "Skycroft doesn't have to be closed off if the police enforced the laws" . In discussing the alleged response citizens who reported the distur- bance in the park got from the police, the Mayor said it was the Hennepin County Dispatcher who had told them that the police "couldn't and wouldn' t try to handle such a mob of kids" . He also said the person from St. Anthony who reports a law violation by juveniles should advise the dispatchers there is alikelihood that the call is being monitored by the youths involved. However, Mr. Dulgar said using a teleprinter to avoid being overheard in cases involving juveniles would probably tie up the system too extensively to be prac- tical. The Manager said it is very difficult for liquor store personnel to ascertain the age of some juveniles because so many look much older than they are and carry false I.D. 's, some of which are reported to be printed right in the St. Anthony High School. He said anyone having knowledge of such illegal sale of alcoholic beverages should immediately report it to the City Manager or Liquor Store Manager. He speculated that most minors do not accurately • identify their sources, fearing such sources will be lost. On the evening in question, Councilman Stauffer reported going to the park and finding it empty by 11:00 P.M. Mr. Dulgar said the only evidence of a beer party was the empty plastic glasses although the police arrested two persons for stop sign violations and one for DWI and took home five juveniles. He suggested residents might take advantage of the ride along program the police offer. Councilman Stauffer said when she got to the park she saw only one car with noisy occupants. She added however, that there was a very noisy party in the area at the same time, although the participants appeared to be adults. She concluded by saying the Police Department is two men short and lack of funds prevents increasing the personnel to a point where they may be more effective. Mr. Pulscher and Mr. Osekowsky felt "the existing department could be more effective" . The Mayor defended police personnel saying they are on call while they are eating and often met at the centrally located Hobo to compare notes. Mrs. Hultgren added that Chief Hickerson had told her part of the problem of law enforcement is the reluctance of citizens who refuse to make a formal complaint fearing reprisals. The meeting was recessed from 9 : 50 to 10 :25 P.M. when Chairman Stauffer reconvened it to hear comments from the Community Service • represnetatives Terry Ecklund and Delores Tilseth about the wind (6) • screens for the tennis courts and softball tournament rules and regulations. A majority of the Council and the Manager agreed that, though screen- ing the tennis courts might be a nice improvement, possible vandalism and tight City finances were a real concern. Councilman Haik, however, wanted the possibility of obtaining funding from other sources such as Revenue Sharing or Community Development grants explored. She also wanted the Manager to see if there would be any support from the school officials for the project. Motion by Councilman Sauer and seconded by Councilman Stauffer to deny the request for wind screens around the existing tennis courts. Before voting, Mayor Miedtke moved to table until the time of budget consideration but his motion died for lack of a second. Voting on the motion to deny: Aye: Miedtke, Sauer and Stauffer Nay: Haik Motion to deny carried. Motion by Mayor -Miedtke and seconded by Councilman Sauer to follow • the recommendation of the Community Service Advisory Committee and staff that the tennis courts proposed to be funded by Community De- velopment grants be built adjacent to the existing six courts in Central Park. Motion carried unanimously. Following a discussion with the Community Service representatives, the following motion was directed to them: Motion by Mayor Miedtke and seconded by Councilman Sauer to commend Terry Eklund and Delores Tilseth for the report they had prepared regarding the use of facilities at Parkview. Motion carried unanimously. A discussion of drinking of beer in the City parks and the fees which should be charged for softball tournaments followed. Motion by Mayor Miedtke and seconded by councilman Sauer to direct the City Attorney to prepare an amendment to the City Ordinance dis- allowing any beer or alcoholic beverages to be drunk in the City parks except when a permit is granted by the City Council for some special community affair. • Motion carried unanimously. (7) • The Council will consider whether the curfew set for the parks should be changed after the amendment is put into effect. Miss Eklund, who is the acting director of Community Services compared the fees charged by neighboring communities for use of their parks for softball tournaments and along with a suggested raise in the fees now charged by the City for such events said she thought the hockey shelters could be opened for restroom facilities during such games and the cost of paying attendants could be added to such fees. Notion by Mayor Miedtke and seconded by Councilman Sauer to authorize the rules and regulations for softball tournaments be modified by the Community Services Department as requested including payment of a fee of $50 .00 per day per diamond plus a $50.00 deposit with the fees split between the City and the Community Services. When the Attorney questioned whether such fees could be split in this manner, the maker of the motion withdrew the motion and substituted the following: Motion by Mayor Miedtke that a fee for softball tournaments include $50. 00 per day, per diamond, plus a $50 .00 deposit and that the Manager and Community Services Department develop new rules and regu- lations for softball tournaments including the setting of fees for same. • Motion carried unanimously. Since a quorum of Council members was now present, the Legion request was reconsidered. Motion by Mayor Miedtke and seconded by Councilman Stauffer to take from the table the request from St. Anthony Legion Post Number 513 for a Conditional Use Permit. Motion carried unanimously. The Mayor said, since his vote was necessary for passage and the Council had indicated to the Legion that the permit would be granted, he would vote affirmatively, but reluctantly, since he felt a poor precedent was being set. Motion by Councilman Sauer and seconded by Councilman Stauffer to grant a Conditional Use Permit to the St. Anthony American Legion Post Number 513 which will allow an unspecified number of campers to camp adjacent to the Legion Hall at 2651 Kenzie Terrace as requested from Noon, Friday, June 17th to 6 :00 P.M. Sunday, June 19th, 1977 , subject to the conditions established by the Planning Board in their May 17 , 1977 recommendation for approval. Motion carried unanimously. (8) • Mr. Dulgar will see the written agreements requested by Councilman Haik are received prior to the event. Motion by Mayor Miedtke and seconded by Councilman Sauer to refer any proposal for improvements of the Poppin Fresh Pies restaurant to the Planning Board. Motion carried unanimously. Mr. Vickrey read the City Ordinance which deals with the prohibition of trucks on St. Anthony Boulevard which Chief Hickerson wanted brought into compliance with the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board Ordinance. This ordinance allows light non-commercial pickups to legally use the boulevard. Councilman Sauer suggested the gross weight for such vehicles be set at 9,000 lbs. Motion by Mayor Miedtke and seconded by Councilman Haik to direct the City Attorney to amend the City Ordinacne to incorporate the Minnea- polis Park Board Ordinance 76-106 and to make the changes necessary to allow vehicles up to 9 ,000 lbs. gross weight on the St. Anthony Boulevard through the City. Motion carried unanimously. Motion by Councilman Sauer and seconded by Councilman Stauffer to • direct the City Attorney to prepare an amendment to the City Zoning Ordinance which will make the changes regarding notification on variance applications which were recommended by Jim Fornell in his memo of May 25, 1977 . Motion carried unanimously. Council members indicated the subjects they wanted the Attorney to include in his discussion during the joint Council/Board dinner meeting June 6th. Among these were the Free Standing Sign policy and the realities of bringing existing signage into conformance with the Sign Ordinance. Prior to leaving the meeting at 11 :30 P.M. , Mr. Vickrey clarified the item in his firm' s statement of account which represented the cost of retaining a court reporter for a deposition taken for litiga- tion against the City. Motion by Councilman Haik and seconded by Mayor Miedtke to direct the City Manager to cooperate with Columbia Heights to provide pedestrian safety at the 36th and 39th Avenue intersections with Stinson Boule- vard through stop signs and crosswalks. Motion carried unanimously. The Council meeting was recessed and the Board of Review which had • been recessed from May 12, 1977 was reconvened at 11 : 50 P.M. (9) Motion by Mayor Miedtke and seconded by Councilman Haik to approve the minutes for the May 12 , 1977 Board of Review. Motion carried unanimously. The Manager reported that of the three properties which the Council had directed be reassessed, one, that of Arthur Peale retained the same valuation and those of Eddie Jameros and Raymond Sanford were reduced. Motion by Mayor Miedtke and seconded by Councilman Haik to approve the reduction of property valuations as set by the assessor for: $900 .00 for the Eddie Jameros property 3612 Edwards Street N.E. $4,600 for Raymond Sanford 3301 Edgmere Avenue N.E. Motion carried unanimously. Motion by Mayor Miedtke and seconded by Councilman Sauer to adjourn the Board of Review at 11:55 P.M. Motion carried unanimously. The Council meeting was resumed at 11: 56 P.M. to establish June 24th as the date for the Council/School Board golf match and picnic. Motion by Mayor Miedtke and seconded by Councilman Stauffer to grant all licenses listed in the May 31, 1977 Agenda. Motion carried unanimously. Motion by Mayor Miedtke and seconded by Councilman Sauer to approve payment of all Verified Claims listed in the May 31, 1977 Agenda. Motion carried unanimously. Motion by Councilman Sauer and seconded by Mayor Miedtke to approve payment of $3,078.58 to the Dorsey Firm for services rendered during April. Motion carried unanimously. Motion by Mayor Miedtke and seconded by Councilman Stauffer to ad- journ the meeting at 11: 57 P.M. Motion carried unanimously. Mayor ATTEST: - City Clerk C Manalger 7 (1 )