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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006.04.03 CC MinutesMINUTES FOR THE HUGO CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF APRIL 3, 2006 Mayor Fran Miron called the meeting to order at 7:05 pm. PRESENT: Granger, Haas, Petryk, Puleo, Miron City Administrator Mike Ericson, CD Director Bryan Bear, Asst. City Attorney Mark Vierling, City Engineer Jay Kennedy, City Planner Kendra Lindahl, and Senior Engineering Technician Scott Anderson. CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF MARCH 20, 2006 Councilmember Petryk brought to attention the date for the City-wide bus tour. She noted that is should read May 40'not May 6h. Puleo made motion, Haas seconded, to approve the minutes as amended for the March 20, 2006 meeting. All aye. Motion carried. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Miron made motion, Petryk seconded, to approve the agenda for April 3, 2006 as presented. All aye. Motion carried. CARLA SWANSON (FIELD REPRESENTATIVE, U.S. CONGRESSMAN MARK KENNEDY Carla Swanson is the new field representative for U.S. Congressman Mark Kennedy, replacing Johnna Kountz, who replaced Rochelle Dodge, both of whom have left for opportunities in the private sector. She contacted staff to introduce herself before the Hugo City Council. City staff scheduled the welcome and introduction of Carla Swanson to the citizens of Hugo. She stated that she is meeting with people and learning more about the area. CONSENT AGENDA Haas made motion, Granger seconded, to approve the following Consent Agenda: Approval of Claims Approve Appointment of Joyce Granger to Historical Commission Approve Authorization to Advertise for Administrative Intern Approve Variance for Fence at 15675 Fairoaks Avenue North (Todd and Heidi Jones) Approve Resolution Establishing Out -of -State Travel Policy for Elected Officials Approve Annual Performance Review for Finance Director Ron Otkin Approve Proposal from WSB for Fire Hydrant Locates Approve Off Sale Liquor License for Festival Foods Approve Acceptance of Public Improvements for Wilderness View Approve Washington County Economic Development Strategy for Cities Approve Oneka Townhomes WCA LGU Wetland Mitigation Plan All aye. Motion carried. City Council meeting of April 3, 2006 Page 2 APPROVE APPOINTMENT OF JOYCE GRANGER TO HISTORICAL COMMISSION For the past several months, staff has been advertising for vacancies on the Hugo Historical Commission and the advertising has been successful. Long-time resident Joyce Granger has made application to the City for appointment to the Historical Commission. City staff has spoken with Joyce and she is also known by members on the Commission, who encouraged her to apply. Adoption of the Consent Agenda approved the appointment of Joyce Granger to the Hugo Historical Commission. APPROVE AUTHORIZATION TO ADVERTISE FOR ADMINISTRATIVE INTERN Included in the 2006 City Budget was an intern for the building department. Staff has projected satisfactory staffing levels for the building department in the summer and fall of 2006. As an alternative to those staffing demands, staff has determined that an intern within the administrative department is necessary to assist the city administrator and city clerk with day-to-day and project duties. Specifically, the intern would work under the direction of the city administrator and city clerk in the following areas: 1) elections - hundreds of new residents needing to register to vote and complete absentee ballots; 2) recodification of City codes — 2006 City Goals is a labor intensive project; 3) Centennial Commission activities; and 4) Historical Commission; Commission needs staff assistance to draft history of Hugo. Adoption of the consent agenda authorized staff to advertise for the administrative intern position at a rate of $10 for a six-month time period. APPROVE VARIANCE FOR FENCE AT 15675 FAIROAKS AVENUE (JONES) Todd and Heidi Jones applied for a variance to permit a six-foot high fence in a front yard on property located at 15675 Fairoaks Avenue (Waters Edge North). The property is a corner lot and has two front yards. Ordinance limits the height of a fence located in a front yard to four feet. On March 9, 2006, the Board of Zoning Adjustments unanimously recommended approval of the variance. Adoption of the Consent Agenda approved a variance for Todd and Heidi Jones to permit a six-foot fence to be located in the front yard. APPROVE RESOLUTION ESTABLISHING OUT-OF-STATE TRAVEL POLICY FOR ELECTED OFFICIALS In 2005, the Minnesota State Legislature passed new legislation applicable to local governments and elected officials providing clarification on out-of-state travel. City Attorney Dave Snyder and City Administrator Mike Ericson have reviewed the City's personnel policy, which does not currently address this issue. Staff has prepared an out-of-state travel policy for Hugo elected officials to comply with Minnesota State Statute. City staff is not aware of any use of state travel by elected officials over the past several years. Adoption of the consent agenda adopted resolution 2006-17 establishing an out- of-state travel policy for Hugo elected officials. APPROVE ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REVIEW FOR FINANCE DIRECTOR RON OTKIN Ron Otkin was hired as the City's finance director on April 3, 1989. Over the past 17 years, Ron has worked thoroughly and diligently to establish a finance department and department head position in the City. Ron recently earned his 12'h GFOA Certificate of Excellence plaque recognizing him as a national City Council meeting of April 3, 2006 Page 3 leader in his profession. Ron was successful in 2005 in providing excellent oversight and direction of the City's finance department, which includes preparation of the City's annual budget, TIF reporting, utility billing, accounts payable, and excellent professional recommendations in financing public improvement projects. Ron leads by example as a dedicated, loyal, and tireless member of the City Hall team. Adoption of the Consent Agenda approved the annual performance review for Finance Director Ron Otkin. APPROVE PROPOSAL FROM WSB FOR FIRE HYDRANT LOCATES WSB submitted a proposal to City staff for identifying benchmarks for all hydrants in the City of Hugo. Staff felt that this data was very important and necessary in developing the City's mapping and coordinate system. Adoption of the Consent Agenda approved the proposal from WSB for $9,750 for Hydrant Location/Benchmark Survey. APPROVE OFF SALE LIOUOR LICENSE FOR FESTIVAL FOODS Aarthurn Enterprises LLC d/b/a Festival Foods made application to the City for an off -sale liquor license for a new liquor store next to the new Festival Foods grocery store. The Washington County Sheriffs Department completed the standard background investigation and the applicant is considered to be an approved license holder. Staff received the standard liquor liability insurance and approval from the Sheriff's office. Adoption of the Consent Agenda approved the off -sale liquor license for Aarthurn Enterprises LLC d/b/a Festival Foods. APPROVE ACCEPTANCE OF PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS FOR WILDERNESS VIEW Kel-Mont Development, LLC, developer, requested the City accept the constructed public improvements for the Wilderness View development. Acceptance of the improvements would begin a one-year warranty period. At the end of one year, the project would be considered complete and maintenance activities would become the responsibility of the City, and the City would continue to hold the issued letter of credit during the one-year warranty period. Adoption of the Consent Agenda formally accepted the public improvements for the Wilderness View development. APPROVE WASHINGTON COUNTY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY FOR CITIES On February 6, 2006, Council listened to a presentation from Mayor Fran Miron and City Administrator Mike Ericson regarding an economic development strategy proposed by a number of Washington County cities to the Washington County Board. A draft proposal was shared with Council, who encouraged the involvement of the City in its final draft, which was being facilitated by the city administrator of Oakdale and Woodbury. A final draft was presented to Washington County and a request has been made of the other cities to provide formal approval. Adoption of the Consent Agenda approved the Washington County Economic Development Strategy for Cities and the white paper prepared and presented to Council previously. City Council meeting of April 3, 2006 Page 4 APPROVE ONEKA TOWNSHOMES WCA LGU WETLAND MITIGATION PLAN Cross Country Properties requested approval of a wetland mitigation plan for the Oneka Townhomes Development. The Oneka Townhomes project includes the development of 5.90 acres located north of 150d' St. and west of Hwy 61 for residential townhomes. Adoption of the Consent Agenda approved the conditional approval of the mitigation plan pursuant to attached stipulations and findings. DISCUSSION OF COOPERATIVE FACILITY USE AGREEMENT WIWBL SCHOOL FOR ONEKA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL COMMUNITY GYM For the past year and a half, City staff has been working with representatives from the WBL school district in preparation of the combined use of the community gymnasium in the new Oneka Elementary School. As Council is aware, all students from the Hugo Elementary School, as well as new children from the Victor Garden neighborhood, will enter the new school for the fall 2006 school year. The Cooperative Facility Use Agreement has been drafted with significant input from both the City and WBL school officials for the purpose of coordinating the use of the community gymnasium after the school day is done. City Staff met on Wednesday, March 15, 2006 with Phil Fisher, Manager of Building Operations for the WBL Area Public Schools, to discuss the draft agreement and get input about joint operation of the facility. The draft is well on its way to completion, with a few detailed changes from the meetings. City staff presented the agreement for discussion by Council for a final draft agreement at a later date which would be presented to the WBL School Board, as well. Haas stated that the agreement only talks about the $1 million dollars that the City donated and doesn't recognize the value of the land that was given by the City for this site. CD Director Bryan Bear explained one example of what is included in the agreement and how it handles the additional costs that would be involved with the use of the facility by the City. Haas made motion, Miron seconded, to table this issue to allow staff to continue revisions to the agreement. All aye. Motion carried. DISCUSS RURAL & OPEN SPACE PRESERVATION ORDINANCE At its March 20, 2006 meeting, Council discussed a concept plan for the Wlaschin family and its project known as Sunset Shores. There was significant comment provided to City Planner Kendra Lindahl and the applicant regarding the proposed concept plan. CD Director Bryan Bear discussed with Council the need to hold a workshop to review the current rural and open space preservation ordinance and its application on this property, as well as property in the future. Haas made motion, Granger seconded, to set a workshop date of Tuesday, April 18, 2006 at 9:00am to discuss the rural and open space ordinance. The Planning Commission will be invited to attend. All aye. Motion carried. City Council meeting of April 3, 2006 Page 5 REVIEW CONCEPT PLAN FOR ARCAND PROPERTY (PULTE HOMES) Pulte Homes requested review and comment on a PUD sketch plan for 247 single-family homes on 192.8 -acres at the northeast comer of 130th Street and Highway 61. The gross density of the project is 1.28 units per acre and the net density is 2.19. The project includes single family homes on 60 -foot and 80 -foot lots and approximately 20 -acres of common open space proposed to be dedicated to the City has public park. Council reviewed the PUD sketch plan and provided informal comments to the applicant: 1) 60' Lots are too small; 2) Open space in middle of project is not desirable as parkland dedication. It should be on upland in north end of development; 3) 5 foot side yard setbacks are too small; 4) Does not appear to meet the PUD criteria; and 5) Appears to be too dense because of the concentration of lots around the edges of the development. Tina Goodroad from Pulte Homes attempted to address and answer some of the Council's concerns. SCHEDULE COUNCIL SITE VISIT OF ONEKA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL City staff received an invitation from WBL School Superintendent Ted Blaesing for the entire City Council to a site visit of Oneka Elementary School. Miron made motion, Haas seconded, to schedule a site visit to the new school for Thursday, May 4, 2006 at 3:30 pm. This will be followed by the City-wide bus tour for the Council and Commissions. All aye. Motion carried. CITY EMPLOYEE YEARS OF SERVICE RECOGNITION PROGRAM City staff received a request from Fire Chief Jim Compton for a review of the City's personnel policy, specifically, whether Council is interested in a "years of service" employee recognition program. City staff researched this issue and provided a draft policy from the League of Minnesota Cities research library. Miron made motion, Petryk seconded, to direct staff to create a policy recognizing City employees, fire fighters, Commission and Council members, and City volunteers for "years of service"; specifically, starting with ten (10) year recognition and again at five (5) year increments thereafter. Employees would be recognized with a certificate or plaque. All aye. Motion carried. DISCUSSION ON CITY COMMISSIONS PHOTO DISPLAY Over the past several months, individual Council members have discussed with staff their interest in providing a City commission photo display, which would provide the public with an opportunity to recognize appointed members on the various City commissions. City staff requested direction from Council as to its interest in creating a City commission(s) photo display. Haas made motion, Granger seconded, to have staff put together a photo board displaying the pictures of council and commission members. All aye. Motion carried. City Council meeting of April 3, 2006 Page 6 DISCUSSION ON ACQUISITION OF HANCOCK HOUSE (a, 5583147TH STREET FOR COUNTY LIBRARY CD Director Bryan Bear and CD Intern Rachel Simone met with Terry and Angela Hancock on March 20, 2006, to discuss the City possibly buying their house for the proposed library site as shown in the downtown plan. At the EDA meeting of March 20, 2006, Bryan gave an overview to the EDA of property location and information of the proposed library site. The EDA discussed the matter and recommended that City staff evaluate financing and property acquisition priorities, and to report to Council and EDA with findings. The EDA discussed that the properties across TH61 from City Hall are a first priority, but feel that the City should still look into buying the Hancock property, if the funding is available. City staff requested direction from the Council on whether the possible acquisition of the Hancock property should move forward. Granger made motion, Petryk seconded, to decline the offer to consider the offer and to notify the Hancocks and the EDA as soon as possible. All aye. Motion carried. DISCUSSION ON GUSSET DESIGN PROPERTY ON TH61(RICK BURR) Rick Burr sent the City a letter stating that he would like to expand his existing business, Gusset Design Inc. at 15587 Forest Blvd. The property is zoned Commercial but the building use is industrial. The structure was built before the zoning change to Commercial District, so it is allowed to remain. The City Municipal Code states that he is not allowed to expand because the use is nonconforming to the current zoning. At the EDA meeting on March 20, 2006, staff gave an overview of the actions that Rick Burr was requesting and gave some possible solutions to the issue. The property is surrounded by residential zoning and there is a possibility the area could be redeveloped. The EDA discussed the possible solutions and suggested a meeting with other property owners in the area. They also recommended that Council set up a meeting with the other adjacent property owners to see how they feel about the zoning changes and their future plans for the area. The meeting would include two EDA members, two Planning Commission members, and two City Council members. Staff recommended that Council set a date for the meeting with the affected property owners. Miron made motion, Puleo seconded, to accept the EDA's recommendation and schedule a meeting with the other adjacent property owners. All aye. Motion carried. Hass made motion, Puleo seconded, to have Mayor Miron and Council Member Granger represent the Council at this meeting. All aye. Motion carried. DISCUSSION ON SPEED LIMIT IN VICTOR GARDENS (MIKE WARNER) Mayor Fran Miron was contacted by resident Mike Warner from the Victor Gardens neighborhood. He City Council meeting of April 3, 2006 Page 7 expressed concern about the speeding in the neighborhood. Mr. Warner requested that the speed limit be reduced to 25 mph. City staff requested Council to direct staff on whether or not to draft a resolution requesting that MnDOT conduct a speed study at specific locations in the neighborhood. Mayor Miron stated that this is becoming more common in the City. City Engineer Jay Kennedy stated that a reduced speed limit lower than 30mph is highly unlikely with a Mn/DOT speed study. Mayor Miron stated that he is reluctant to go to Mn/DOT every time these issues come up and thinks staff could visit with Mr. Warner and bring back a more fine-tuned recommendation. Miron made motion, Haas seconded, to have staff meet directly with Mr. Warner and bring back a recommendation to the Council. All aye. Motion carried. CARNELIAN MARINE WATERSHED DISTRICT MANAGER TERM EXPIRES City staff received notification from the Carnelian Marine Watershed District that the term of office for Steve Kronmiller will expire on June 21, 2006. This public announcement is to any and all individuals interested in applying for this manager position should contact the Carnelian Marine Watershed District or the City of Hugo. REPORT ON MARCH 24.2006 JD2 BLUE RIBBON TASK FORCE MEETING On March 24, 2006, a reconvening of the JD2 Blue Ribbon Task Force took place at the Hugo City Hall. This is the first time in nearly five years that the Task Force has met. Attendants included representatives from the MnDNR, RCWD, Board of Water and Soil Resources, and the City of Hugo. After two hours, an agreement was reached in principle regarding the future minor maintenance of JD2 and the Stipulation for Dismissal from the lawsuit with the DNR. The Rice Lake Management Plan and maintenance of Branch 2 of JD2 will be part of this cooperative agreement, which will be drafted and prepared and reviewed by the Task Force on Friday, March 31, 2006. City Administrator, Mike Ericson stated that thus far, the meetings have been civil, thoughtful, and has included excellent participation by the four agencies. Mike stated that minutes for the meeting have been drafted by Barbara Haake. At this time, Mayor Miron stepped down from the dais and passed the gavel to acting Mayor Petryk. Frank Puleo stated that the task force recommended to Judge Cass that the mediation be put off until May 1" to allow time for the task force to hold these meetings and try to come to an agreement. Puleo also stated that the DNR acknowledged the need for a wildlife management plan for Rice Lake. Puleo continued by saying that he was concerned that the DNR indicated that the agreed upon profiles for JD2 and Branch 2 "didn't mean anything". At the next Council meeting, Mike Ericson hopes to have a MOA available, along with the meeting minutes that Barbara Haake has prepared. Puleo discussed his opinion that any agreement that comes to the Council should be reviewed, and include comments, by Councilman Granger. John Waller approached the Council and stated that his issue is with the 1997 floodplain ordinance. He wanted to know if the City is going to issue a conditional use permit for the structures in JD2. He indicated that the City is not enforcing the floodplain ordinance. Mr. Waller strongly suggested to Bryan Bear that he review the old floodplain ordinance from 1978. There was no further discussion. City Council meeting of April 3, 2006 Page 8 ADJOURNMENT Granger made motion, Petryk seconded, to adjourn at 10:00 pm. All aye. Motion carried. Scott Anderson Senior Engineering Technician