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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC MINUTES 032520251 2 3 4 5 6 7 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 CITY OF ST. ANTHONY CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MINUTES MARCH 25, 2025 I. CALL TO ORDER. Mayor Wendy Webster called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE. Mayor Wendy Webster invited the Council and audience to join her in the Pledge of Allegiance. III. ROLL CALL. Present: Mayor Webster, Councilmembers Doolan, Jenson and Randle. Absent: Councilmember Elnagdy. Also Present: City Manager Charlie Yunker, Assistant City Manager Ashley Morello, Fire Chief Izzy Diaz, City Planner Steve Grittman, WSB Project Manager Katie Koscielak, Public Works Director Jeremy Gumke and Police Chief Jeff Spiess. CONSIDERATION, DISCUSSION, AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON ALL OF THE FOLLOWING ITEMS. IV. APPROVAL OF MARCH 25, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING AGENDA. Motion by Councilmember Jenson, seconded by Councilmember Doolan, to approve the City Council Meeting Agenda of March 25, 2025 as presented. Motion carried 4-0. V. PROCLAMATIONS AND RECOGNITIONS. A. Fire Cal2tain Promotions Fire Chief Izzy Diaz and Deputy Chief Mattie Jaros provided background information on Samantha and Ryan and Fire Chief Diaz administered the Oath of Office to Samantha Herrera - Fletcher and Ryan Snyder for their promotions to Fire Captain. Councilmember Doolan congratulated the new Captains. The Fire Department is valued by St. Anthony. Councilmember Jenson stated St. Anthony is lucky to have such great service people. Councilmember Randle congratulated both. City Council Regular Meeting Minutes March 25, 2025 Page 2 1 Mayor Webster congratulated Captains Samantha Herrera -Fletcher and Ryan Snyder and noted 2 they are great role models for youth. She thanked them for their leadership in the community. 3 4 VI. CONSENT AGENDA. 5 6 A. Apt]rove March 11, 2025 Council Meeting Minutes. 7 B. License and Permits. 8 C. Claims. 9 10 Motion by Councilmember Doolan, seconded by Councilmember Jenson, to approve the Consent 11 Agenda items. 12 13 Motion carried 4-0. 14 15 VII. PUBLIC HEARING - NONE. 16 17 VIII. REPORTS FROM COMMISSION AND STAFF. 18 19 A. Ordinance 2025-02 — An Ordinance Amending the St. AnthonyCity Code by Amending 20 Sections of the City Code RelatipS to Administration Permitting and Fees Si a e 21 Natural Landsca es Transie it/T kporary Business Licensing, Performance Standards 22 Permitted Uses Tgm ora Si s Dan Brous Animals Recreational Fires Nuisances 23 and Land Use Enforcement and Com liance. 24 25 City Planner Steve Grittman reviewed the ordinance presents the first reading of a series of 26 proposed code amendments for consideration and discussion. The Planning Commission held a 27 public hearing on items specifically related to zoning actions. The Commission passed many of 28 these on for eventual adoption by the City Council, which staff has prepared as a package with 29 both zoning and general code items. 30 31 Mr. Grittman reviewed the proposed ordinance sections. 32 33 Section 1 — This language incorporates a penalty fee clause for property owners who proceed to 34 do work without the requisite zoning or other applicable permits. The Building Code (separate 35 from the City Code) imposes a double fee for those who undertake a construction project without 36 the required Building Permit. This clause enables the City to set an appropriate penalty fee as a 37 part of the City's fee schedule, which is typically adopted and updated on an annual basis. — No 38 changes. 39 40 Councilmember Doolan asked if the date on a permit is extendable. Mr. Grittman stated there is a 41 process for extending the date. 42 43 Section 2 — Resets the "Retaining Wall" Definition in the fence section, changing it from "Wall, 44 Retaining" for simple clarity and to track with how the term is used in the Code. The text of the 45 definition does not change, with the exception that a clause is added to clarify that retaining 46 walls must meet the requirements of other fences, consistent with current practice. — No changes. City Council Regular Meeting Minutes March 25, 2025 Page 3 2 Section 3 — This change updates the City's recently adopted natural landscape language to be 3 consistent with the even more recently adopted State statutory language from 2024. — Added 4 back language to avoid the use of pesticides. 5 6 Section 4 — This change also relates to the natural landscapes language, removing the current 7 prohibition from planting such landscapes in the right of way, as the City has sponsored these 8 types of alternative gardens, and modifying the maximum height of such materials, increasing it 9 from 12-128 inches, also consistent with the 2024 state statutory language for managed natural 10 landscapes. — Added language establishing any existing gardens not in compliance as legal 11 nonconformities. 12 13 Section 5 — This change deletes reference to the City's Health Officer, which is not a designated 14 office in the city. — Inserted comma to distinguish requirements for three dogs. 15 16 Section 6 — This change deletes reference to the City's Health Officer, which is not a designated 17 office in the City. — Struck "of the City as superfluous language. 18 19 Sections 7 and 8 — This is a component of the Housing Maintenance chapter of the code. Prior 20 language dealing with Temporary Storage deleted a section that could have been interpreted to 21 accommodate moving containers or "Pods" use, whereas the original intent was to prohibit the 22 use of storage and shipping containers and long-term storage structures (usually in commercial 23 or industrial areas). This section redefines for temporary storage specific to residential uses, then 24 limits size to 128 square feet, whereas industrial shipping containers are usually a minimum of 25 320 square feet. — No changes. 26 27 Sections 9 and 10 — This section addresses transient merchants and peddlers. The City Code has 28 a number of licensing and procedural requirements for such merchants but notes also that any 29 such merchant is required to hold a county license. In researching this process, it was noted that 30 both Hennepin and Ramsey Counties have extensive licensing requirements for transient 31 merchants and peddlers. Staff proposes the deletion of this City licensing/regulatory requirement 32 to eliminate overlap and clarify regulatory responsibilities. One existing short section is retained, 33 specifying that the intent of the County licensing may not be to limit anyone's legitimate 34 exercise of Constitutional rights, including free speech, expression, press, religion, etc. — Added 35 a timeframe for solicitors of 7:00 a.m. — 9:00 p.m., which is consistent with current Code 36 language. 37 38 Councilmember Doolan asked about the hours for solicitation and if 7:00 a.m. — 9:00 p.m. are 39 good. She wonders if 9:00 p.m. is too late. Councilmember Jenson stated this was discussed 40 previously. Councilmember Randle asked how that would be enforced. He agrees 7:00 a.m. is 41 too early and 9:00 p.m. is too late but there is no way to enforce the hours. Chair Webster stated 42 it makes sense to be consistent with our neighboring communities. The solicitors should be 43 respectful of people's time. Mr. Grittman stated that residents can place a sign on their property 44 for no solicitors. 45 City Council Regular Meeting Minutes March 25, 2025 Page 4 1 Sections 11 and 12 — Adoption/Admin language. There are several sections of the code dealing 2 with enforcement, and that refer to the Code "Enforcement" Official. This language will be 3 replaced with the revised title of Code "Compliance" Official. The current zoning language has a 4 number of sections that refer to "permitted" activities. Many of these are more accurately 5 rendered as "allowed" activities. Because a "Permitted Use" is a term of art that refers to uses 6 that DO NOT require further permitting, the text is being updated to inclusively refer to 7 "allowed" uses, which may be permitted, licensed, conditional, or require some other process. — 8 No changes. 9 10 Section 13 — Recreational Fires. This section makes changes to recreational burning in the 11 following ways, in response to Fire Department recommendations and recent experiences with 12 recreational fires in the community: 13 • Adds a restriction for fire size that reduces allowable height for portable fireplaces, 14 reducing the allowance for 3 feet (for ground -level fires) to 2 feet. 15 • Specifies that manufactured materials (such as treated wood, plastic, etc. is not to be 16 burned in a recreational fire. 17 • Adds clarification to the 25-foot setback for recreational fires. 18 • Adds a requirement to extinguish the fire if it is not in compliance with the code; and 19 • Replaces statutory references with a general requirement for compliance (due to 20 constantly changing statutes, rules, and other regulations). Duplicate subparagraph 21 deleted. 22 23 Councilmember Doolan asked if there is something in the Code related to regional fire bans. Mr. 24 Grittman stated included are conditions regarding wind and air quality. 25 26 Section 14 — Nuisance Noise — This section modifies the recently adopted language to set a noise 27 decibel level at the property line, rather than a distance measurement. While the distance 28 measurement is arguably easier to measure, it is subjective, in that it depends on the subjective 29 impression of the listener. The revised language is a numeric measurement by a decibel meter. 30 This is a verifiable standard, and while not perfect, there are a variety of smartphone apps that 31 provide an easy method of approximating decibel measurements to aid in ensuring compliance. — 32 No changes. 33 34 Section 15 — Dangerous Dogs. This section is proposed to be updated to add definitions for 35 various terms used in the text of the existing code (and makes one statutory reference update). 36 The definitions are for "Dangerous Dog", "Potentially Dangerous Dog", "Proper Enclosure", and 37 "Substantial Bodily Harm". These definitions are drawn largely from statute, and/or from 38 representative ordinances in nearby communities. — No changes. 39 40 Section 16 — Temporary "For Rent" Signs on Rental Property. This update adds a category of 41 temporary sign to allow residential property owners to display a notice during times when they 42 are actively attempting to rent a dwelling unit. The ordinance language is written to specify that 43 the sign may be displayed during those times. However, we are not permitted to require that such 44 signs only advertise the rental. This would be a content -based regulation, which we cannot 45 require. Instead, we rely on the likelihood that most landlords will use this opportunity to provide 46 notice of the vacant dwelling, rather than for other speech. — No changes. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 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 City Council Regular Meeting Minutes March 25, 2025 Page 5 Councilmember Jenson stated these have been reviewed a number of times and he has no problem in approving the First Reading of the Ordinance. The revisions are intended to reflect City Council discussion and direction on this group of Code Updates. If they are acceptable, staff recommends approval of First Reading of Ordinance No. 2025-02. The draft ordinance was provided for Council review. Motion by Councilmember Doolan, seconded by Councilmember Jenson, to approve First Reading of Ordinance 2025-02 — Ordinance Amending the St. Anthony City Code by Amending Sections of the City Code Relating to Administration, Permitting and Fees, Signage, Natural Landscapes, Transient/Temporary Business Licensing, Performance Standards, Permitted Uses, Temporary Signs, Dangerous Animals, Recreational Fires, Nuisances, and Land Use Enforcement and Compliance. Motion carried 4-0. IX. GENERAL BUSINESS OF COUNCIL. A. Ordinance 2025-01 — Regulating the Sale of Tobacco and Related Devices and Products. City Manager Yunker reviewed the Overview of Proposed Ordinance Updates, which was presented to Council on March 11, 2025, by Emily Anderson from the Association for Nonsmokers -MN. Motion by Councilmember Jenson, seconded by Councilmember Doolan, to approve Second Reading of Ordinance 2025-01 — An Ordinance Regulating the Sale of Tobacco and Related Devices and Products. Motion carried 3-1 (Randle), B. 2025 Street and Utility Im ?rovement Projects. Ms. Katie Koscielak, WSB Project Manager, reviewed that there are three resolutions for Council consideration. She reviewed a PowerPoint of the 2025 Street and Utility Improvement Project. The Proposed Project (Assessable) includes: Street & Utility Reconstruction • Macalaster Drive from 39`h Avenue to Railroad. Mill & Overlay Project • 391 Avenue NE: Stinson Boulevard to Silver Lake Road. • 30t' Avenue NE: Stinson Boulevard to Silver Lake Road. • Armour Terrace: Roosevelt Street to Silver Lake Road. • Murray Avenue: Roosevelt Street to Coolidge Street. • 291 Avenue NE: Silver Lake Road to Highway 88. City Council Regular Meeting Minutes March 25, 2025 Page 6 • Roosevelt Street: St. Anthony Boulevard to 30`t' Avenue NE. • Wilson Street: St. Anthony Boulevard to 30'h Avenue NE. • Coolidge Street: St. Anthony Boulevard to 29th Avenue NE. Ms. Koscielak reviewed the Non -Assessable Proposed Project as Thin Maintenance Overlay of Anthony Lane: 29th Avenue NE to Cul-De-Sac. The Non -Assessable Proposed Improvements include: Central Park • Reclaim and Pave Trail. • Remove and Replace Basketball Court. • New Storm Sewer Installation. St. Anthony Boulevard • Overlay Existing Sidewalk. Miscellaneous Maintenance • Skycroft Drive Hydrant Replacement. • Foss Road Lift Station Bypass Improvements. The Engineer's estimate for the projects was $2,683,535.00. Eight bids were received between $2,531,570,55 - $3,095,521.00. North Valley Inc. was the low bid for $2,531,570.55. Ms. Koscielak noted they worked in St. Anthony last year and did a great job. Ms. Koscielak reviewed the Project Costs/Funding and Project Schedule. Additional information regarding street reconstruction projects can be found by visiting the "St. Anthony Village Reconstruction Process" webpage located under How do I ... then Learn About on the City's website at https://savinn.com. Councilmember Jenson asked to see the slide showing 39th Avenue from Stinson Boulevard to Silver Lake Road. On that, there are apartments on the north side and a condo building on the south side. There is also a 55 and older rental building. He asked how the owners in the condo will be assessed. Ms. Koscielak referred to the current assessment policy. If they receive property tax statements the frontage will be divided between the occupants. The building off 38'h Avenue will not be assessed for this project. Councilmember Doolan asked about the overlay being done on the west side and if that is a many -year solution. Ms. Koscielak stated it creates a wedge. There will be cracking showing within the first year. It is very effective. When the more extensive replacement is done that will take care of the cracking. Hennepin County is looking into funding on how to do the Lowry improvement. Mr. Yunker stated he knows Hennepin County is actively seeking funds. a. Resolution 25-022 — Calling for a Public Hearing for the 2025 Street Improvement Project. N 5 6 7 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 City Council Regular Meeting Minutes March 25, 2025 Page 7 Ms. Koscielak reviewed this is a resolution calling a Public Hearing for the 2025 Street Improvement Project. This resolution sets a public hearing to be held on April 22, 2025, at 7:00 p.m. On February 4, 2025, bids for the 2025 Street and Utility Improvement Project were opened. The low bid received for the project was $2,531,570.55. The total cost of the improvement as presented in the feasibility study was $2,815,300. The revised estimated total cost of the improvements is $3,041,700. The revised costs include approximately $57,100 for concrete walk overlay along St. Anthony Boulevard, approximately $32,500 for replacement of a damaged hydrant on Skycroft Drive, approximately $19,100 forcemain bypass improvements to the existing lift station on Foss Road and approximately $82,000 for additional drainage improvements within Central Park not originally identified during the feasibility study. Motion by Councilmember Randle, seconded by Councilmember Jenson, to approve Resolution 25-022 — Calling for a Public Hearing for the 2025 Street Improvement Project. Motion carried 4-0. b. Resolution 25-023 — Declaring the Cost to be Assessed and Ordering Preparation of the Proposed Assessments for the 2025 Street Improvement Project. Ms. Koscielak reviewed this is a resolution declaring the cost to be assessed and ordering preparation of proposed assessments for the 2025 Street and Utility Improvement Project. This resolution declares the amount to be assessed to be approximately $633,700. Motion by Councilmember Jenson, seconded by Councilmember Doolan, to approve Resolution 25-023 — Declaring the Cost to be Assessed and Ordering Preparation of the Proposed Assessments for the 2025 Street Improvement Project. Motion carried 4-0. C. Resolution 25-024 — Calling a Hearing on the Proposed Assessments for the 2025 Street and Utility Improvement Project. Ms. Koscielak stated this resolution sets an assessment hearing to be held on April 22, 2025 at 7:00 p.m. Motion by Councilmember Doolan, seconded by Councilmember Jenson, to approve Resolution 25-024 — Calling for a Public Hearing on the Proposed Assessments for the 2025 Street and Utility Improvement Project. Motion carried 4-0. C. Public Works Annual Report. Public Works Director Jeremy Gumke reviewed a PowerPoint of the Public Works Annual Report for 2024. The report included the Public Works Mission Statement, Staff in the Public Works Department, Street Maintenance Division, Salt & Salt Brine 2020-2025, Parks City Council Regular Meeting Minutes March 25, 2025 Page 8 1 Maintenance Division, Ice Skaters 2021-2025, Utilities Division, Watermain Breaks and Service 2 Leaks 2017-2024, Vehicle Maintenance Division, Engineering Division Projects 2024, Street & 3 Utility Improvements and Mill & Overlay Projects 2024-2040, 2024 Sustainability Initiatives, 4 Community Engagement & Service, Staff Training and Development, Staff Recognition, Electric 5 Vehicle Analysis, Well 4 Rehabilitation, 2025 Upcoming Events, and How to Stay Connected. 6 7 Councilmember Jenson stated he has no concerns and thanked Mr. Gumke for the detail in his 8 report, along with a thanks to the entire department. 9 10 Councilmember Doolan stated at the MWMO meeting, St. Anthony was commended for their 11 street sweeping efforts. 12 13 Councilmember Randle left the meeting at 8:05 p.m. 14 15 Mayor Webster asked about the Public Works staff and noted they are the humblest staff in the 16 City. Ernie Hicks is a valued employee. Mayor Webster referred to Well 4 and asked for an 17 explanation of the process for getting that well back online. Mr. Gumke explained there was an 18 issue with the chlorine level being too low. The water was always safe to drink. 19 20 Mayor Webster commended the Parks Maintenance Division on the accessible and inclusive play 21 equipment at Silver Point Park. She thanked Mr. Gumke for his leadership in the Public Works 22 Department and all the Staff. 23 24 D. Police Annual Re ort. 25 26 Police Chief Jeff Spiess reviewed a PowerPoint of the Police Department Annual Report for 27 2024. The report included Department Summary, Crime Statistics (Part I and II Crimes), 28 Investigation Review, Calls for Service, Patrol Review, Reason for Stop Data, Education 29 Overview, Education Summary, Social Media Team, Strategic Plan/Community Engagement, 30 Community Engagement/Our Team, Community Engagement Events, Body Worn Camera 31 Program, Recruitment/Bold Strategy, Wellness Focus, Work Plan Accomplishments, What's on 32 Deck — Looking Ahead to 2025-2026, and How to Stay Connected. 33 34 Today there are 22 police officers filling every shift. Overtime has decreased. There are two 35 police officers currently in field training. There are 3 cadets who will finish school in 2025. One 36 other cadet is being interviewed, which will bring the total to 28 if everything goes right. 37 38 Mayor Webster asked about the therapy dog program and wondered if that was connected to the 39 lost dog program. She thanked Chief Spiess for the wonderful presentation. 40 41 Councilmember Jenson stated he is amazed at the detail of the report. St. Anthony is the poster 42 child for community -oriented policing. He thanked Chief Spiess for his leadership and the team. 43 The department has a great operating system. 44 City Council Regular Meeting Minutes March 25, 2025 Page 9 1 Councilmember Doolan stated Chief Spiess has knocked our socks off. She appreciates all the 2 Police Department does, the proactive steps, and the strategic planning efforts. The team does so 3 many things to help people. 4 5 Mayor Webster thanked Chief Spiess for such a comprehensive look at the Police Department. 6 She is grateful for the Department and the collaboration with other departments within the City. 7 She commented on those struggling with mental health and how the Police Department offers 8 assistance. It seems the entire department is doing recruiting for new officers which is helping. 9 Mayor Webster thanked all leadership within the Department. 10 11 X. REPORTS FROM CITY MANAGER AND COUNCIL MEMBERS. 12 13 City Manager Yunker reported the City submitted its application for a Cannabis retail license. He 14 is on the list to be appointed to the Metro Cities Board. 15 16 Councilmember Doolan reported that most of her work has been for Connect with the Council on 17 March 12 and 19. On March 24, she attended the MWMO presentation. 18 19 Councilmember Jenson stated he attended Connect with the Council on March 12. On March 13, 20 he attended a Ramsey County League of Governments Climate Action Meeting along with a 21 monthly program meeting. On March 14, he attended a Board Meeting. On March 18, he 22 participated in a Northeast Youth and Family Services subcommittee meeting. On March 20, he 23 along with Councilmember Elnagdy, attended a Connect with the Council Meeting. On March 24 21, he attended the Northeast Youth and Family Services strategic planning meeting. 25 26 Mayor Webster stated on March 12, she attended the Park Summit. On March 19, she hosted the 27 second meeting of the Mayor's Youth Council and Sustainability Coordinator Saulog will speak 28 at the April meeting. 29 30 XI. COMMUNITY FORUM - NONE. 31 32 No one appeared to address the City Council. 33 34 XII. INFORMATION AND ANNOUNCEMENTS. 35 36 Councilmember Doolan encouraged residents to look at the Chamber of Commerce website and 37 attend the April 24 Villager of the Year celebration. 38 39 A. Future Agenda Items 40 41 The next Work Session Meeting and Regular Council Meeting will be held on April 8, 2025. 42 43 XIII. ADJOURNMENT. 44 45 Motion by Councilmember Jenson, seconded by Councilmember Doolan to adjourn the meeting 46 at 9:30 p.m. City Council Regular Meeting Minutes March 25, 2025 Page 10 4 4 Respectfully submitted, 5 Debbie Wolfe 6 TimeSaver Off Site Secretarial, Inc. 7 8 9 10 11 ATTEST 12 qCy Cle 13 Motion carried 4-0.