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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC MINUTES 03282006P] 4 5 6 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 CITY OF ST. ANTHONY CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MINUTES MARCH 28, 2006 CALL TO ORDER. Mayor Faust called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE. Mayor Faust invited the Council and audience to join him in the Pledge of Allegiance. ROLL CALL. Present: Mayor Faust; Councilmembers Horst, Stille, and Thuesen. Absent: Councilmember Gray. Also Present: City Manager Mike Mornson. CONSIDERATION, DISCUSSION, AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON ALL OF THE FOLLOWING ITEMS. I. APPROVAL OF MARCH 28, 2006 CITY COUNCIL MEETING AGENDA. Motion by Councilmember Thuesen, seconded by Councilmember Stille, to approve the City Council Meeting Agenda of March 28, 2006. Motion carried unanimously. H. PROCLAMATIONS AND RECOGNITIONS. None. III. CONSENT AGENDA. A. Consider March 14, 2006 Council meeting minutes B. Consider licenses and permits. C. Consider Payment of claims. Mayor Faust requested the removal of Consent Agenda Item A. Motion by Councilmember Stille, seconded by Councilmember Horst, to approve Consent Agenda items B and C. Motion carried unanimously, Motion by Councilmember Thuesen, seconded by Councilmember Stille, to approve Consent Agenda item A. Ayes — 3. Nays — 0. Abstains — 1(Faust) Motion carried IV. PUBLIC HEARINGS. None. V. REPORTS FROM COMMISSION AND STAFF. A. Update on Silverwood Park; presented by Three Rivers Park District City Council Regular Meeting Minutes March 28, 2006 Page 2 1 Jonathan Flaming, Planning Manager, Three Rivers Park District, addressed the Council and 2 provided an update on Silverwood Park. He reviewed the master plan components and how this 3 plan developed, by public process and demand. He added there has been strong public interest 4 for a center that combines art and the environment. 6 Michael Horn, Architect, stated they have hired a consulting engineer for assessments. Phase I 7 development includes a performing arts stage, garden space, new visitor center combined with a 8 reservation type facility, studio / classrooms, trails and walkways, parking, and possibly a pier. 9 He showed artist renderings. He added future phases could include a maintenance facility, picnic 10 shelters, canoe and kayak rentals, an interactive art feature, and improved garden spaces. 11 12 Councilmember Thuesen thanked the presenters for the visual presentation and asked about 13 contact with the school district. He asked, due to their strong presence, how involved northeast 14 Minneapolis was in the survey of the local art community. He also asked if there is any 15 communication structure with the different players. Mr. Flaming replied he is unsure of the 16 exact art groups surveyed but approximately 70 groups were contacted. He added during the 17 construction phase communication is minimal; however, during the design development phase 18 and the programming phase communication and education will be critical. 19 20 Councilmember Thuesen asked if during the construction phase there would be minimal impact 21 beyond the gates of the park. He also asked what is the estimated amount of visitors and the 22 impact on Silver Lake Road. Mr. Horn replied there would be minimal impact. He added they 23 are currently doing a traffic impact study. 24 25 Councilmember Thuesen stated he assumes the performing arts stage is not intended for rock 26 concerts, but does the City need to look at noise issues. He also asked if there have been other 27 developments like this and have they had noise issues. Mr. Horn replied there will be no huge 28 sound systems or lights. He added there have not been other performing arts venues such as this. 29 30 Councilmember Stille asked about the timeframe. Mr. Horn replied they are currently under 31 contract with a consultant for the buildings and utilities, and then they will be working on phase 1 32 development plans. The initial construction is set for late this year. 33 34 Councilmember Stille stated the display looked pretty grassy in the presentation and asked if it 35 will be mostly a natural area. He also asked what is the rule regarding walking dogs in the park. 36 Mr. Horn replied it will not entirely be motif grass. Mr. Flaming replied the park district has 37 been moving towards opening one trail in each park for dog walking. 38 39 Mayor Faust stated the impact of dog and cat droppings on water is quite severe; it all ends up in 40 the waterways. 41 42 Mayor Faust stated they are a community of 8,000 and expects over 100,000 visitors. Mr. 43 Flaming replied the most used regional parks have over five million visits per year. He added 44 one of the master plan requirements is that transportation issues are looked at thoroughly by Met 45 Council and by transportation planners to see if there is local or regional burden. The issue has 46 been reviewed and no issues were identified. 47 City Council Regular Meeting Minutes March 28, 2006 Page 3 1 Mayor Faust noted the two north side entrance roads and asked about the presentation entrance. 2 He also asked if the current entrance building as well as what other buildings for the new arts 3 theater will be removed. Mr. Horn replied the entrance on County Road E will be the main 4 entrance but they will continue to have both. He added they are currently doing a building 5 assessment so they are unsure at this time which buildings will be removed. 6 7 Mayor Faust stated Council is not prepared to do a motion tonight because this is not a decision 8 item on the agenda. He suggested staff be contacted. Mr. Flaming replied they are looking for a 9 motion or resolution of support for the master plan. He added this provides park district aid and 10 the ability to assist in raising funds. 11 12 Mayor Faust stated he is not sure Council has heard everything from residents yet; however, in 13 two weeks they could make a motion. 14 15 Councilmember Thuesen stated he thinks two weeks is a fair amount of time to get feedback. 16 17 Councilmember Horst stated part of the criteria in the purchasing phase is a buy -in from the City 18 and he is sure that is what they are looking for. He added in two weeks he would feel more 19 comfortable. Mr. Flaming replied this would be fine. 20 21 Councilmember Stille stated the only involvement the City has is in granting building permits. 22 Mr. Flaming replied at this point they have no plans to ask for anything. 23 24 Mayor Faust stated they will wait two weeks and thanked them for coming. 25 26 27 Motion carried unanimously 28 B. Resolution 06-03 1 • conditional use permit for beauty salon in an apartment community, 29 Jan Jenson addressed Council and provided an update on the conditional use permit for a beauty 30 salon in The Landings. The use is allowed, with limitations. No residents were in attendance to 31 express concern. 32 33 Mark Morehouse, The Landings, stated he would like to run a small beauty salon in the 34 apartment complex. 35 36 Mayor Faust asked if the salon would be for senior residents only. Mr. Morehouse replied at this 37 time they are planning on seniors only; however, if others were interested in using the salon 38 services they would consider opening it up to all residents. He added they currently do not 39 expect demand from general residents. 40 41 Motion by Councilmember Horst, seconded by Councilmember Thuesen, to adopt Resolution 42 06 -031, re: conditional use permit for beauty salon in an apartment community. 43 44 Councilmember Thuesen complimented the Planning Commission regarding the conditions. 45 46 Motion carried unanimously, 47 City Council Regular Meeting Minutes March 28, 2006 Page 4 1 C. Resolution 06 -032: narking variance for an office building next to Tires Plus 2 Jan Jenson addressed the Council and provided an overview of a variance request for the lot 3 adjacent to Tires Plus, 3803 Silver Lake Road. The sketch plan has 35 parking spaces planned, 4 leaving a deficit of 8 parking spaces. One resident was present and asked for a plan review. 5 6 Councilmember Stille asked if the vote was unanimous. Mr. Jenson replied no. 7 8 Councilmember Stille asked what was the dissenting vote discussion. Mr. Jenson replied 9 discussion focused on the impact of hardship. He added a lot dealt with the unusual shape of the 10 lot; it is difficult to develop. 11 12 Mayor Faust asked if the owner divided the lot in the past. Mr. Jenson replied he is unsure. Mr. 13 Morrison replied he is unsure but believes it was bought as separate lots. 14 15 Brent Thompson, S & T Development, stated the building would be office condominiums which 16 fits into City code, within primary uses. The building does not allow for one user to occupy the 17 entire building, but four different users. The benefit is that it is targeting the small business -type 18 user that is destination driven, with a maximum of five employees. This has been done in many 19 cities and studies show seven to eight parking spaces per unit. They have no interest in doing the 20 project unless the client says there is adequate parking. The hardship is the pond behind the 21 building which serves both Tires Plus and this facility, but will deem the site undevelopable 22 unless a parking variance is granted. He added the parking lot would not be full even once the 23 building is full. 24 25 Councilmember Horst asked the building size. Mr. Thompson replied approximately 6,400 26 square feet; the width of each unit is 32 feet by 42 or 44 in length, which fits the basic 27 component of the floor plan. 28 29 Councilmember Horst asked if it is a deal buster if the width is less than 32 feet. Mr. Thompson 30 replied yes, it comes down to layout and 32 feet is ideal. 31 32 Councilmember Stille asked if there are any presales for these units. He asked when 33 construction would start and if soon, to what point. Mr. Thompson replied they are currently on 34 speculation, no marketing has been done; however there is an arrangement with the seller of the 35 property. He added construction would start immediately; the exterior would be 100% complete 36 and the building would have fire safety approval. 37 38 Councilmember Stille asked what would prohibit a buyer from wanting all of the units. Mr. 39 Thompson replied there is a development agreement with the City, so the buyer would have to 40 come before the Commission and request to tear down all of the condominium walls. 41 42 Councilmember Stille asked if there is a development agreement. Mr. Momson replied no, 43 whatever motion Council makes would be public record. Mr. Thompson replied once it goes to 44 market it cannot be changed without them coming back and making a change. 45 46 Mayor Faust asked if there was a plat yet. Mr. Thompson replied no. 47 City Council Regular Meeting Minutes March 28, 2006 Page 5 1 Mr. Morrison asked if the units would be leased. Mr. Thompson replied no, there would be four 2 individual owners. He added they could lease their space, but the end user is the same. Lots 1 to 3 4 would be occupied with the association owning the rest. Mr. Mornson replied he is not sure he 4 agrees with Mr. Thompson regarding the platting and suggested the City attorney review this. 5 6 Mayor Faust stated if divided by four, each unit square footage would be 1,610; therefore, it 7 would be sold as four units with over 3,200 square feet of office space. Mr. Thompson replied 8 the building footprint is 6,441 square feet. 9 10 Mayor Faust stated once the building becomes condominiums and are sold it is unknown who is 11 moving into it. The amount of traffic is also unknown. He asked about a landscape plan. Mr. 12 Morrison replied it was submitted to City staff this week. 13 14 Councilmember Horst stated he is not too concerned with the small number of parking spaces, 15 but he is concerned on how to get control of the property regarding usage. He added it is an 16 important piece of property and he would like assurance of the plan being submitted. He 17 suggested Council table the resolution until they have this assurance. Mr. Morrison replied they 18 can do a development agreement, but it is typically not done for a variance request. 19 20 Mayor Faust stated tabling the resolution would go beyond the 60 days, which it would then 21 default and give the applicant the opportunity to move forward. He suggested they look at 22 hardship, noting he believes all three criteria need to be met. He added there is no way of 23 knowing what is going to happen to the units when they sell in the future. He is not sure they 24 come close to fulfilling all three hardship requirements. 25 26 Councilmember Stille asked if this could be put to reasonable use with no variance. He would 27 like to see a plan that tries to accommodate City code. He suggested downsizing the proposed 28 building. 29 30 Mr. Thompson asked if the plan would have met the square footage requirement for parking 31 would he be attending this Council meeting. Mr. Mornson replied yes, this is the first time 32 hearing of four separate ownership condominiums. 33 34 Mr. Thompson stated there are specific uses for commercial property, and asked if Council is 35 trying to narrow down the types of uses. Mayor Faust replied no, the issue at hand is to approve 36 or deny the variance. 37 38 Motion by Councilmember Stille, seconded by Councilmember Thuesen, to deny Resolution 06- 39 032, re: parking variance for an office building next to Tires Plus. 40 41 Councilmember Horst stated he is assuming staff will provide the applicant with options. Mr. 42 Morrison replied a meeting will be set up to go over various options. He added he will request 43 the City attorney be involved. 44 45 Councilmember Thuesen stated he agrees with the other members that there are too many 46 unanswered questions, for example, lease versus rental, is the criteria meet, and economic gain. 47 City Council Regular Meeting Minutes March 28, 2006 Page 6 1 Councilmember Stille stated there is insufficient information. 2 3 Councilmember Horst stated the vision probably would work in the City but more information is 4 needed. He suggested the applicant work with staff. 6 Mayor Faust stated the City is business friendly, but standards need to be met. He added the 7 issue before Council tonight is the parking variance and all other issues mentioned are 8 secondary. This does not meet the state statute for a variance. 9 10 Ayes — 3. Nays — 1(Horst). Motion carried 11 12 Mayor Faust recessed the meeting at 8:15 p.m. 13 14 Mayor Faust reconvened the meeting at 8:20 p.m. 15 16 D. Annual Department Head Reports 17 a. Liquor Operations 18 Mike Larson, Liquor Operations Manager, addressed the Council and provided an overview of 19 liquor operations for 2005. He stated during the year 2005 the City owned and operated two off - 20 sale liquor stores. He reviewed the number and position of employees and their mission 21 statement. He provided a summary of year 2005 sales and the number of transactions per store, 22 noting total sales were divided as follows, liquor at 30 %, beer at 41 %, wine at 26 %, and mix and 23 miscellaneous at 4 %. He presented a 10 -year net profit history. He reviewed year 2005 24 activities and awards, noting liquor operations passed all of their alcohol and tobacco compliance 25 checks. He presented year 2006 projects. He encouraged viewers to visit their website and 26 provided the address. He reviewed year 2005 customer survey responses noting all categories 27 received 90% or above in Excellent or Good. He added in the first three months of 2006 the 28 stores' beer selection has increased to over 1,200, the liquor selection to over 1,200, and the wine 29 selection to over 900 labels. To date, sales are $117,000 above this same time in 2005. 30 31 Councilmember Thuesen asked if there has been a trend towards higher sales with specials such 32 as micros. He also asked if there have been any unusual trends in wine sales over the past year. 33 Mr. Larson replied that segment of the beer market is an increasing trend in the industry. He 34 added there has been a large increase in imported wines. The largest change in 2005 was 35 consumer buying in that they are going for a higher quality, higher priced wine than in the past. 36 37 Councilmember Thuesen asked now that both stores are up and running and road construction is 38 done how are the two stores doing. Mr. Larson replied there has been a change in product 39 purchasing habits of consumers. 40 41 Councilmember Thuesen congratulated Mr. Larson and staff for their hard work and effort. 42 43 Councilmember Stille commented there were lower sales in 2005 due to construction. Mr. 44 Larson replied with roads closed he expected worse than what occurred. He added the stores are 45 becoming more of a destination. 46 City Council Regular Meeting Minutes March 28, 2006 Page 7 1 Mayor Faust stated they had several opportunities to screw up but they did not, which speaks 2 highly when operations pass all of their compliance checks. He thanked him. 4 b. Public Works 5 Jay Hartman, Public Works Director, addressed the Council and provided an overview of public 6 works for 2005. He reviewed the number and chain of employees. He provided a summary of 7 department activities — vehicle maintenance, street department, City buildings, parks department, 8 and water /sewer department, and a detailed review of each. He reviewed the completed year 9 2005 capital improvement projects. He presented year 2006 public works goals as well as 10 upcoming events and projects. 11 12 Councilmember Thuesen asked if the department is seeing fewer water main breaks. Mr. 13 Hartman replied yes, there used to be 20 -25 per season, but last season there was only 10. 14 15 Mayor Faust stated the department's response time has always received compliments. He 16 thanked him. 17 18 c. Fire Department 19 John Malenick, Fire Chief, addressed the Council and provided an overview of the fire 20 department for 2005. He reviewed year 2005 number of emergency calls noting an increase in 21 runs for a total of 1,043 and a decrease in property loss. He noted year 2005 average response 22 time was 2 minutes 11 seconds, a decrease from past years. He reviewed the types of medical 23 calls and fire calls with the percentage year 2005 calls in each category. He reviewed 24 department training noting there are six new recruits which are all certified. He reviewed the 25 department's promotion of fire prevention and community events. He noted the department 26 received a $200,000 FEMA grant in 2005. 27 28 Mayor Faust stated everyone has been pleased with the response time. He added the City relies a 29 lot on volunteer fire fighters and he is not sure people understand how much money is saved and 30 how much they contribute to the community. He encouraged the department to continuing 31 applying for grants. 32 33 Councilmember Thuesen thanked the department from the Community Services Program. 34 35 d. Police Department 36 John Ohl, Police Chief, addressed the Council and provided an overview of the police 37 department for 2005. He reviewed the number and position of employees and their budget. He 38 provided a summary of year 2005 Part I and Part II crimes as well as other calls / incidents of 39 interest. He noted total calls for police service was 5,920. He reviewed year 2005 happenings in 40 the patrol unit and the investigative unit. He reviewed year 2005 crime prevention activities such 41 as the DARE program. He summarized year 2005 police education noting the Department met 42 all their 2004 goals. He reviewed the tactical response unit and introduced Mark Dokken and 43 Jon Mangseth who provided visual aids of their gear including a ballistic helmet, safety eye 44 wear, a ballistic vest, knee pads, and their tools, including a ram, a bunker, an MPS, a 37mm, and 45 a gas launcher. He reviewed the Hennepin County weapons of mass destruction tactical team. 46 He reviewed the community service officer unit. He reviewed the 2005 police reserve. He 47 reviewed year 2005 department accomplishments and year 2006 work plan. City Council Regular Meeting Minutes March 28, 2006 Page 8 2 Mayor Faust thanked him and the department. He added people should not be afraid to dial 911 3 in an emergency situation. He thanked all of the officers. 4 5 Mayor Faust stated when reading the department reports and now hearing those reports, he is 6 amazed at the quantity and quality of work the departments do. Attention to detail, cooperation 7 with each other, and a can-do spirit are shown in all of the departments. O 9 Mr. Malenick stated Officer Kevin Cardinal is instrumental in bringing together and reviewing 10 the necessary information for grants. He presented Mr. Cardinal with a certificate. 11 12 VI. GENERAL POLICY BUSINESS OF THE COUNCIL. 13 None. 14 15 VII. REPORTS FROM CITY MANAGER AND COUNCILMEMBERS. 16 City Manager Mornson reported the following: 17 • Thank you to the department heads for showing up and Mayor Faust for his words. 18 • He will be participating in the Junior Exchange Program, discussing city government 19 with a third grade class at Wilshire Elementary. 20 • He attended a seminar last week, which discussed lean government. 21 • He is looking for two Council members to sign up for the Comp Planning Task Force, 22 which starts May 8 for six meetings. 23 • There will be a City Watch demonstration at 6:15 p.m. on April 11 where goals will be 24 discussed. 25 • He will be attending the legislative update this week. 26 27 Councilmember Thuesen stated he is so impressed with the professionalism of each department. 28 He added he is proud to represent City residents. He would like to be considered for the Comp 29 Plan Task Force. 30 31 Councilmember Horst stated he has never been more proud of those working for the City and 32 thanked them. He attended the first Village Fest meeting last week, noting they are in need of 33 volunteers for the Fest which takes place the first week of August. The next meeting will be 34 April 19 at 7:00 p.m. at City Hall. He spent time earlier this afternoon with the St. Paul Public 35 Arts Group which is working with the Sister City Foundation to host the MN Rocks Symposium 36 this spring. He handed out MN Rocks bookmarks to Council and noted they are available at 37 coffee shops and the front desk. Mayor Faust asked the Fest contact for volunteers to call. 38 Councilmember Horst replied they can contact Kim Moore -Sykes at City Hall. 39 40 Councilmember Stille thanked all of the department heads and asked if reports were available to 41 the public. Mr. Momson replied they can be put on the website and the public may receive a 42 hard copy from City Hall. 43 44 Mayor Faust indicated that on March 21 he attended the Mississippi Water Management meeting 45 with Council members from Minneapolis and St. Paul and from the Minneapolis Parks Board. 46 City Council Regular Meeting Minutes March 28, 2006 Page 9 1 VIII. COMMUNITY FORUM. 2 Mayor Faust invited residents to come forward at this time and address the Council on items that 3 are not on the regular agenda. 4 5 6 7 IX. 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 X. XI. Hearing none, Mayor Faust moved forward with the agenda. INFORMATION AND ANNOUNCEMENTS. Mayor Faust stated he received an email from Finland that Counselors will be coming to the City from June 6 to 10. The Salo Park dedication will be June 8. City Council will be involved in various capacities from June 6 to 10, and department heads may give a brief. Councilmember Stille reminded viewers of the reciprocal agreement with Ramsey County to bring brush to their site, which opens April 3. He requested Mr. Morrison put this information on the website. Mayor Faust stated he believes it is in the April newsletter. MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATIONAL DOCUMENTS. None. ADJOURNMENT. Mayor Faust adjourned the meeting at 10:06 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Cheryl Felix Timesaver Off Site Secretarial, Inc. ATTEST: %l City Clerk Mayor Motion carried unanimously.