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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC MINUTES 07262005I CITY OF ST. ANTHONY 2 CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MINUTES 3 JULY 26, 2005 4 5 CALL TO ORDER. 6 Mayor Faust called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. 7 8 PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE. 9 Mayor Faust invited the Council and audience to join him in the Pledge of Allegiance. 10 11 ROLL CALL. 12 Present: Mayor Faust; Councilmembers Gray, Horst, Stille, and Thuesen. 13 Absent: None. 14 Also Present: City Manager Mike Mornson. 15 16 CONSIDERATION, DISCUSSION, AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON ALL OF THE FOLLOWING 17 ITEMS. 18 19 I. 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 APPROVAL OF JULY 26, 2005 CITY COUNCIL MEETING AGENDA. Motion by Councilmember Horst, seconded by Councilmember Stille, to approve the City Council Meeting Agenda of July 26, 2005. Motion carried unanimously. II. PROCLAMATIONS AND RECOGNITIONS. A. Proclamation declaring August 2, 2005, as "National Night Out". Councilmember Gray read the proclamation. Motion by Councilmember Horst, seconded by Councilmember Gray to approve the Proclamation declaring August 2, 2005 as "National Night Out". Motion carried unanimously, III. CONSENT AGENDA. A. Consider June 28, 2005 Council meeting minutes. B. Consider licenses and permits. C. Consider payment of claims. Motion by Councilmember Stille, seconded by Councilmember Thuesen, to approve the Consent Agenda items. Motion carried unanimously, 44 IV. PUBLIC HEARINGS. 45 A. Wellhead Protection Program Todd Hubmer, WSB presenting 46 Mayor Faust opened the public hearing at 7:04 p.m. 47 48 Mr. Hubmer explained the Program, stating the purpose of the Wellhead Protection Plan is to 49 reduce the potential for contamination of public water supply. This applies to City Wells 3, 4, City Council Regular Meeting Minutes July 26, 2005 Page 2 1 and 5. He noted the vulnerability of the St. Anthony Drinking Water Supply Management Areas 2 (DWSMAs) was found to be low to moderate. He noted St. Anthony's DWSMA contains 3 contaminates from the Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant. He said within nine months of 4 implementing the WHP plan, the city will confirm the presence and location of all inventoried 5 wells. A plan will be developed to inform property owners; possibly through the newsletter or 6 individual mailings. Owners will be informed to use the water only for watering purposes and 7 not for ingestion, or if they are not using it, they should have their well sealed. He summarized 8 the timeline for WHP. The plan will be submitted to Minnesota Department of Health by early 9 August with the review and approval of the Plan following. The Plan will be implemented later 10 this year. 11 12 Councilmember Stille asked how many wells exist. Mr. Hubmer said quite a few exist. Many 13 private wells are in the northeast corner of the community. A number of them appear to be 14 active. All the wells in St. Anthony Village that are within the drinking water supply have been 15 visited. 16 17 Councilmember Gray asked about the potential contaminants and questioned whether more 18 priority is given due to the fact that it is a DWSMA. Mr. Hubmer said there are several 19 information sources. The counties supply the information to them, and any history of the area is 20 kept. 21 22 Mayor Faust noted St. Anthony is working with New Brighton and Arden Hills. They will have 23 to use some the information our city gathers. He asked if Hennepin County is willing to assist in 24 paying for a program, and if the wells are mostly in Ramsey County, if there would be any 25 reciprocity. Mr. Hubmer answered that he is not sure whether Hennepin County has a well 26 sealing program. He noted the background information was completed by Ramsey County 27 Conservation District. He said they have completed a number of these plans for cities in Ramsey 28 County. 29 30 Mayor Faust stated when a house is sold, the information on any wells is disclosed. He asked 31 how this information becomes part of the public records. Councilmember Stille pointed out that 32 this would be on the deed. Mr. Hubmer pointed out that well drillers are required to file reports 33 on any wells they have sealed. 34 35 Mayor Faust noted some residents are putting in sandpoints. He asked if they are the same 36 consequence as a regular well. Mr. Hubmer replied that they are a higher threat than no well, 37 however if they have not penetrated contaminating layers and it is a shallow well, is more safe. 38 39 Mayor Faust asked if someone had a sandpoint, and wanted to handle it legally, what would they 40 do. Mr. Hubmer explained the owner should call City Hall and talk to Jay Hartmann. 41 42 Mayor Faust clarified that they will complete this project again in 2.5 years. Mr. Hubmer 43 confirmed and said this is the timeframe they are required by state to go through this project 44 again. 45 46 Mayor Faust closed the public hearing at 7:18 p.m. 47 City Council Regular Meeting Minutes July 26, 2005 Page 3 Mr. Hubmer indicated no action by the Council is necessary. 3 V. REPORTS FROM COMMISSION AND STAFF. 4 None. 6 V1. GENERAL POLICY BUSINESS OF THE COUNCIL. 7 A. City Engineer Report on the following items: Todd Hubmer, WSB presenting 8 1. Resolution 05 -060; Bids for Flashing Beacon. 9 Mr. Hubmer noted two bids were received on July 19, 2005 for the flashing beacon. A bid from 10 Jam Logic for $17,000 was received. The estimated cost was $22,000. He said his staff 11 recommends approval of the Jam Logic bid. 12 13 Motion by Councilmember Gray, seconded by Councilmember Thuesen to approve Resolution 14 05 -060 Re: A Resolution Awarding a Bid for Fire Station Advanced Warning Beacons to Jam 15 Logic in the amount of $17,000.00. 16 17 Motion carried unanimously. 18 19 Councilmember Gray asked if Mr. Humber knew what the reason was for the gap within the two 20 bidders. Mr. Hubmer said he wasn't sure. 21 22 2. Update on I & I Program. 23 Mr. Hubmer summarized the status of the Inflow/Infiltration reduction plan. The Met Council 24 has identified St. Anthony as having excessive amounts of sanitary sewer flows during large 25 rainfall events, which exceeds the allowable flows set by the Met Council. hi an effort to reduce 26 1/I, the reduction plan must be implemented. He said in order to determine whether a pump in a 27 house is in compliance, if it is pumping outside, it is in compliance. If there is no pump in the 28 house, there is a 70% chance the house is out of compliance. If a pump drains outside into a 29 drain area, this is not in compliance. He noted the City has completed a number of activities to 30 reduce the flow of clear water into the sanitary sewer system. 31 32 Mr. Hubmer noted the MCES is developing a surcharge program that is proposed to begin in 33 2007 for communities not meeting their I/I goals. One possibility is the City would be charged 34 $52j000 per year for a five -year period if the IH goals are not being met. Another possibility is 35 that there would be door -to -door inspections. 36 37 Councilmember Thuesen questioned regarding the potential fines starting 2007, if the city has to 38 pay in 2007, and the issues are corrected by 2009, would the city have to pay the next three years 39 in fines. Mr. Hubmer answered the city would not. If the Met Council notices the city has 40 improved, and there is a reduction, they will remove the city from the list. 41 42 Councilmember Thuesen asked if there is a "drop dead" date the city should considers if it is 43 going to go with some of the options proposed. Mr. Hubmer said this winter is a good time to 44 get started. He said by fall, the surcharge program will be more defined. This will give us an 45 idea of how aggressive they will be. 46 City Council Regular Meeting Minutes July 26, 2005 Page 4 1 Councilmember Gray clarified that this law was changed in 1970. Mr. Hubmer agreed. 2 Councilmember Gray asked if records have been kept with which houses have been checked. 3 Mr. Humber said there is a file for each parcel, and there is information on each parcel that has 4 been checked. He said as they proceed, they will want to show Met Council how many 5 inspections have been done, and show that progress is being made. He said at some point, the 6 Met Council will see that St. Anthony has done all it can do. 8 Councilmember Gray suggested that those homes that are seen to be at a higher risk for 9 noncompliance be offered more education and a date for compliance. Mr. Hubmer said there has 10 been a good response in the education meetings. 11 12 Councilmember Horst commented that this could be somewhat self - correcting if the inspections 13 are handled during the water meter installations. Mr. Hubmer stated it is a suggestion to 14 combine the activities, at this point, since the decision to replace water meters hasn't been made 15 as yet. 16 17 Mayor Faust stated that this decision would need to be made in November or December. The 18 Met Council will have made decisions on further guidelines and timeframes by this time. He 19 noted this is information that is being kept in front of people and the public information is 20 ongoing so everyone is aware of the program. He said that a grant program had been mentioned 21 and he said he was unsure if anything like that had been done in the past. He asked if something 22 like this could be done for street improvement charges. 23 24 Mr. Hubmer stated that through the flood process, he has been in approximately 200 homes in 25 the area. He said people have asked for the grant program. He explained that eligibility 26 guidelines must be created. Every one is paying for the illegal connections in St. Anthony 27 because everyone is paying for a higher connection through the fees. He said there is some 28 responsibility to try to reduce that on everyone's part. 29 30 Mayor Faust stated he is in the position that the City should be proactive rather than have the 31 Met Council incorporate the city into their program. He said he does not want to hold off, but 32 also does not want to reward someone who hasn't taken the steps compared to someone who has. 33 34 Councilmember Stille noted the Housing Resource Center has grants for income eligible persons, 35 and suggested this could be an avenue for people that have financial issues. Mr. Hubmer agreed. 36 37 3. Update on Automatic Water Meter Reading System. 38 Mr. Hubmer noted the city's water meters are around 20 to 30 years old, which is the life span of 39 the meters. They eventually slow down and keep less accurate records. He stated he has had 40 meetings with two suppliers. He supplied the information of the cost of updating the current 41 system versus installing a wireless system. The installation of the wireless system is much more 42 expensive, though it has many benefits. It has the potential to reduce billing errors, it reduces 43 paper and postage costs, and increases meter reading productivity. This alsp sets up a database 44 that depicts how much water is being used. 45 46 Councilmember Thuesen inquired whether there is a need for ongoing accuracy or calibration. City Council Regular Meeting Minutes July 26, 2005 Page 5 1 Mr. Hubmer responded the meters are rigorously tested. They do wear out over time and will 2 need to be replaced in time. He pointed out there is a meter replacement program in place 3 currently. 4 5 Councilmember Thuesen asked how long they last on average. Mr. Hubmer replied they last 6 about the same as the current meters, which is a 20 to 30 year period. 8 Councilmember Horst asked if there are renewable costs with the software. Mr. Hubmer 9 explained that once the system is installed, there is no need to update it. Unless some of the 10 system had been changed by choice, there would not be a need for updating. He said he doesn't 11 see there would be a need for a software upgrade. He noted if a new platform is introduced, it 12 would be compliant with all systems in existence. 13 14 Councilmember Horst confirmed that there would only be the cost of the system, and the cost of 15 installation. Mr. Hubmer agreed. 16 17 Councilmember Gray pointed out some of the benefits cannot be quantified in money. He asked 18 if any amounts have been set for other activities involved in this. Mr. Hubmer answered that 19 there have been no amounts added thus far. He suggested they could take a rough estimate for 20 how much water is being lost with inaccurate meters. 21 22 Councilmember Stille commented that time could be allocated to be better used with this. 23 Increased water usage is most likely a bonus. He asked if other communities' histories, 24 successes, and challenges are known with this program. 25 26 Mr. Hubmer noted that updating a system to this automatic system only makes sense when the 27 meters are in need of replacement. If the meters are only a few years old, it would not make 28 sense to change to this system. He said the other cities that have this system have said in 29 addition to the benefit of collecting revenue lost by inaccurate readings, it brings them into the 30 21" Century and could provide the billing to switch to monthly bills to improve the cash flow. 31 He said using it to track water usage is easier in a digital form. It makes tracking much easier. 32 33 Councilmember Stille asked if it can be detailed to the point of tracking per residence to see if a 34 certain household is using an inordinate amount of water, therefore helping to determine if it is 35 due to a leak or faulty meter, for example. 36 37 Mr. Humber said he is not able to comment on that. This system is such that someone could 38 drive up and down the street and get the information. The prices he gave are the low end and 39 high end. 40 41 Mayor Faust commented that this is not new technology; other cities are using it. Mr. Hubmer 42 agreed and added that he recommends adding the system at the time of changing water meters. 43 44 Mr. Morrison said the City is working with Ehlers to come up with a financial plan. In January, 45 at the strategic planning meeting, the decision making process for this will likely begin. 46 City Council Regular Meeting Minutes July 26, 2005 Page 6 1 B. Police Department 2004 Annual Report, Chief Richard Engstrom. presenting, 2 Police Chief Engstrom stated this last year has seen a lot of changes, and some have made a 3 tremendous impact on the way we do business in the community. The commercial development 4 has challenged the local government to provide the same level of service at a lower cost. The 5 police had to develop innovative ways to provide that for their citizens. He reviewed the Part I 6 crimes in his presentation, which the FBI and Bureau of Criminal Apprehension tracks. He 7 explained that in Part II crimes, there has been an increase in sexual assaults. Also, burglaries 8 and larceny had increased. He explained that overall, this calculates to an increase of 9% in 9 2004. T1; 11 Mr. Engstrom stated the calls for service have gone up from 2003 significantly. The reported 12 incidences went up at the same time. The calls of interest have more than doubled for the 13 suspicious person/vehicle calls. The false alarms are high, but are decreasing slightly. He stated 14 that nine registered sex offenders have moved into St. Anthony. He reviewed the control stats 15 for 2004. He said it was a challenging year due to the fact that five officers were off duty for 16 various reasons at one time. 17 18 Mr. Engstrom noted that there were 1,132 investigation cases total for the year. The clearance 19 rate is 56 %. The detectives had 17 major investigations for the year and five of those were 20 sexual assaults. He reviewed the steps taken by the officers to reconnect with the residents. He 21 explained the education for the officers was down to 1031 hours, which is usually at 1200 hours. 22 They changed it to be more economical and efficient by changing instruction to be at the police 23 department. He noted the Reserve program last year saw another increase in hours. He said they 24 went down to 11 officers in May after 2 reservists gave their notice. The Police Reserves 25 assisted in 731 hours at events such as parades, sporting events, community events. They had a 26 good turnout at a mock emergency and the reservists responding from home. He said they did a 27 community service officer review for the one part time officer. 28 29 Mayor Faust commented that the report is somewhat difficult to read, and noted the public can 30 view a copy at the City Hall. Mr. Engstrom added that copies are available at the library, and in 31 the City Newsletter. 32 33 Councilmember Stille said a few things are disconcerting. He asked what a resident should do to 34 be proactive and reverse these trends. 35 36 Mr. Engstrom said that when the Apache Plaza was tom down, there were calls regarding 37 prowlers, which added to the increase in calls. He said what took his department by surprise was 38 the increase in sexual assaults. They were not on the street, but were in the homes, which are 39 harder to fight. 40 41 Councilmember Stille stated that the Council will encourage other Department heads to help the 42 Police Department out. Mr. Engstrom said he appreciates the help from other departments. 43 44 VII. REPORTS FROM CITY MANAGER AND COUNCILMEMBERS. 45 City Manager Mornson reported the following: 46 • Silver Lake Road Task Force Update — we are soliciting members from the public. We 47 have currently 12 people interested. There were three more calls today. Councilmember City Council Regular Meeting Minutes July 26, 2005 Page 7 1 Gray has indicated his interest. Staff has two meetings set up, with the first on August 2 22. The meetings will be the fourth Monday of every month. 3 • Reorganization of Front Office Complete 4 o Phuongmai — Receptionist/License Clerk; came from the City of Crystal 5 o Robin — Utility Billing; came from the City of Brooklyn Park 6 o Jackie — Liquor Accounts Payable/Payroll; from Utility Billing 7 o Judy Monson has offered to come back and provide training as temporary help. 8 • St. Anthony Marketplace Update 9 o Two variances, one conditional use permit, and amendment to Developer's 10 Agreement for August 23. Another proposal will be brought forward. They will 11 propose the restaurant on the front of the pad site. There will need to be an 12 amendment to the Developer's Agreement. There will be 8 resolutions to 13 consider at the August 23 meeting. 14 Silver Lake Village Redevelopment 15 o Phase III of 39`h Avenue on schedule 16 o Park is also under construction with an expected completion date of 9/30 17 o Equinox is building new garages 18 o 39th Avenue Street Dance October 1 or 8`h 19 o More businesses are moving in. 20 • Ramsey County Task Force — to advise the library system. This starts August 10. They 21 are looking for a resident and Councilmember to join the task force. 22 • Upcoming meetings 23 o August 1 — Worksession at 6:00 p.m. 24 o August 2 — National Night Out 25 o August 9 — Council Meeting at 7:00 p.m. 26 o August 22 — Silver Lake Road Task Force at 7:00 p.m. 27 o August 23 — Council Meeting at 7:00 p.m.; the Historian will give an update. 28 o August 30 — Joint Meeting with School at 6:30 p.m. 29 o Police Report will be posted on the web site weekly. 30 31 Councilmember Stille encouraged participation in the Village Fest. He watched the Patriots 32 band in Colorado at the 4th of July celebrations and noted the Patriots band did a great job. 33 34 Councilmember Thuesen noted he received a letter from a resident regarding the crosswalk in 35 front of the community building. He said he will pass it on to the Councihnembers. 36 37 Councilmember Gray said he had a graduation party at the Pavilion and commented it was a 38 tremendous place for a party. It is underutilized. 39 40 Mayor Faust attended a Minnesota Mississippi Water Management Organization meeting on the 41 12th of July. They discussed natural prairie grasses. Mr. Hubmer will talk with the Executive 42 Director and discuss potential demonstration sites in the city. One of the issues that came up last 43 year in the Planning Commission meetings is our ordinances are not in sync with native 44 restoration, and low use of water, and there is a better way of doing this. 45 46 On the 19th of July, Representative Goodwin spoke at the Chamber of Commerce regarding the 47 session. City Council Regular Meeting Minutes July 26, 2005 Page 8 2 On July 21", the Chamber was invited to the Cold Stone Creamery's grand opening. Jeanette, 3 the General Manager, explained they offer a fund raising effort called "Great Scoopers ". 4 Organizations can come in and scoop ice cream and receive credit for their organization. 5 6 A special City meeting was held last night, and we will be looking at all the suggestions and 7 ideas that came from that meeting. He suggested the Councilmembers write down what they 8 heard and the items will be discussed at a work session. 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 Mayor Faust attended a kick off meeting for the Association of Metropolitan Municipalities Revenue Committee meeting in the morning. He reported that in the legislature that just ended, our efforts at the LMC and AMM paid off this year. There are no levy limits. It has been proven that levy limits have proven to inflate budgets rather than hold them down. He noted the City has had no freezes. Market value homestead credit was not extended to the City. The City does not receive LGA, while other cities did receive that. On the positive side, he said the City was able to see an increase with the school in a per pupil increase. It didn't get as far as hoped, but did make progress. Councilmember Horst had no report. VIII. COMMUNITY FORUM. Mayor Faust invited residents to come forward at this time and address the Council on items that are not on the regular agenda. Hearing none, Mayor Faust moved forward with the agenda. IX. INFORMATION AND ANNOUNCEMENTS. Mayor Faust noted a State of the City Report should have been received by the residents. He encouraged residents to complete the comment card and return it to City Hall. X. MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATIONAL DOCUMENTS. None. XL. ADJOURNMENT.. Mayor Faust adjourned the meeting at 8:38 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Chris Moksnes TimeSaver Off Site Secretarial, Inc. 45 ATTEST: 46 City Clerk 2"� - - O'� yor