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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024.04.01 CC MinutesMINUTES City Council Meeting City Hall Council Chambers Monday, April 1, 2024 7:00 p.m. Call to Order Mayor Weidt called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Roll Call COUNCIL PRESENT: Klein, Miron, Petryk, Weidt COUNCIL ABSENT: Strub OTHERS PRESENT: City Administrator Bryan Bear, City Engineer Mark Erichson, City Attorney Dave Snyder, Community Development Director Rachel Juba, City Clerk Michele Lindau Approval of Minutes for the City Council Meeting on March 18, 2024 Petryk made motion, Klein seconded, to approve the minutes for the City Council meeting held on March 18, 2024, as presented. All Ayes. Motion carried. Approval of Agenda Weidt made motion, Klein seconded, to approve the agenda as presented. All Ayes. Motion carried. Swear in Tom Kaspszak as Chief Engineer on the Hugo Fire Department Tom Kaspszak had been a member of the Hugo Fire Department since November 2016. At its meeting on February 5, 2024, Council approved the appointment of Tom as the new Chief Engineer of the Department. Fire Chief Jim Compton officially swore in Kaspszak at the meeting. Kaspszak thanked his family and all the officers that helped him along the way. Mayor Weidt thanked him for his willingness to serve. Hugo Fire Department Annual Report Fire Chief Jim Compton, Jr. presented the 2023 Hugo Fire Department Annual Report. There were currently 27 firefighters on the staff, and they responded to 380 calls in 2023. Mutual aid calls were up a little bit due in part to the agreements Hugo had with seven other departments. Other departments were called into Hugo 12 times in 2023, and the Hugo department responded to 41 mutual aid calls outside of the City. Of the 380 calls to the department, calls to assist MHealth was the highest at 139 calls, and calls for alarms was next at 100. This was their fourth year assisting MHealth. Compton said they meet with them monthly to discuss operations. MHealth also provided free training including the four training courses necessary to keep up with annual certification. Including mutual aid, there was a total of 109 fire and service calls last year, mostly for structure fires. Council Meeting Minutes for April 1, 2024 Page 2 of 5 There was little or no increase in call volume over the past three years; however, calls were expected to increase with the growing population, and they expected to see more fires due to the dry weather conditions. Compton reviewed call data that showed February and May to be their busiest months with most calls coming in during daytime hours. Sundays were the busiest, and Saturdays were the least busy. Department personnel participated in 3,272 hours of training that included a propane simulator, helicopter rescue, auto extraction, entanglement, and animal and water rescue. Operational improvements in 2023 included the hiring of the City’s first full-time Fire Chief. Three firefighters had completed probation, and two new probationary firefighters were hired. The Department was awarded a 50/50 grant from the DNR for wildland gear, and a new grass firetruck was expected to be in service for the Spring 2024 grassfire season. Community involvement included blood drives, toy drives, rodeos, parades, CPR training, and Good Neighbor Days. In 2023, the department had received a total of $31,851 in donations. Some of the money went into the AED program to help maintain 28 AEDs throughout the community. The goals for 2024 were to recommend changes to the operation and structure of the department, continue discussions on daytime staffing, and hire more paid on-call firefighters. They were accepting applications, and the deadline to apply was June 28, 2024. Klein asked about AEDs in the schools and about training on electric vehicle fires. Compton replied that schools have and maintain their own AEDs, and some EV training was available at Century College. Compton said those types of fires take more water, and sometimes the vehicle needs to be completely submerged. Compton said they have had a handful of small electronic fires. Mayor Weidt thanked Chief Compton for the report. M Health Fairview EMS Annual Report M Health Operations Manager Kevin Kane was in attendance to present the 2023 M Health Fairview EMS Annual Report. Kane presented data on the overall 911 responses during the year and explained how this information was shared with the Hugo Fire Department at their monthly meetings. Within their region, they responded to 465 mutual aid calls, and requested help 216 times. Kane talked about how they categorized different types of calls according to severity, and he provided data on response times. In 2023, the response time in Hugo was eight minutes and ten seconds. In 2023, M Health received 990 requests for service. Forty-one of them were in Hugo. He presented a heatmap that showed where the calls came from, and said they used that information to determine where they station people. Kane talked about the community events they participated in that included the Tough Mudder, live burns, Fridays with Firefighters, and Good Neighbor Days. He said Clayton the dog also attends those events. The Mayor said he appreciated their involvement and partnership. Yellow Ribbon Network Update – Chuck Haas Hugo Yellow Ribbon Board President Chuck Haas presented information on recent activities of the YRN. He began by thanking Council and staff for their support which helped the YRN get their volunteer needs met. Care packages had been sent to Japan, and Haas shared a photo he received as a “thanks”. He said there were currently 600 soldiers being deployed to Kuwait and Afghanistan, and the YRN would continue to send care packages. He shared photos of the Welcome Home Pheasant Hunt that was held at the end of March, and a photo of the grand prize Council Meeting Minutes for April 1, 2024 Page 3 of 5 winner from the Military Appreciation Hunt, which was a helicopter pig hunt in Texas. Haas showed photos of the Burger Night that was sponsored by the Oneka Ridge Golf Course. The Fire Department was a recent sponsor, and the Washington County Sheriff’s Department would be sponsoring Burger Night next month. They continued to send Red Bull Blend Coffee, made in LeCenter, to those deployed. Haas said the YRN responded to requests for gas cards, moving assistance, help after house fires, and medical support. The Mayor thanked him for the update. Approval of Consent Agenda Klein made motion, Miron seconded, to approve the following Consent Agenda: 1. Approve Claims Roster 2. Approve Appointment of Gloria Brisson Gebhard to the Historical Commission 3. Approve Donation to the Hugo Fire Department from the Hugo American Legion 4. Approve Purchase of Two 2024 Chevrolet Trucks for the Public Works Department All Ayes. Motion carried. Approve Claims Roster Adoption of the Consent Agenda approved the Claims Roster as presented. Approve Appointment of Gloria Brisson Gebhard to the Historical Commission Gloria Brisson Gebhard had applied to fill a vacancy on the Historical Commission. Adoption of the Consent Agenda approved the appointment of Gloria Brisson Gebhard to fill the vacancy on the Historical Commission with a term ending December 31, 2024. Approve Donation to the Hugo Fire Department from the Hugo American Legion The Hugo American Legion had requested to donate $1,000 in gambling proceeds to the Hugo Fire Department for training and equipment. All donations to the Fire Department needed to be approved by the Council. Adoption of the Consent Agenda approved the donation from the Hugo American Legion to the Hugo Fire Department. Approve Purchase of Two 2024 Chevrolet Trucks for the Public Works Department Included in the 2023 budget was the purchase of two Chevrolet 2500HD pickup trucks for use at Public Works. Both trucks were ordered in 2023, and purchased using the Mn/DOT Cooperative Purchasing Venture Contract, assuring the City of Hugo received the best price available while providing the City with the necessary options. Adoption of the Consent Agenda approved the purchase of two 2024 Chevrolet 2500HD trucks as outlined in the quote from Saxon Fleet Service for the amount of $46,268.00 each. Discussion on Middle Missing Housing Legislation Community Development Director Rachel Juba talked about bills that had been introduced at the legislature known as the Middle Missing Housing Legislation, which would restrict or eliminate local control over residential developments and land use with the goal of increasing housing and Council Meeting Minutes for April 1, 2024 Page 4 of 5 making it more affordable. She said the bills were changing every week, and the League of Minnesota Cities had been to the legislature testifying on them. She explained it was a bipartisan bill that would replace city zoning regulations with state mandates. It would require cities, “by-right” to allow six types of housing other than singe family to be built on any residential lot and in any zoning district. It would force administrative approvals, prohibit public hearings, and allow accessory dwelling units on residential properties. It also would limit off-street parking to one space per unit. Juba talked about how this legislation would cause problems by departing from how cities plan for infrastructure. There were also concerns about lack of parking to support development, impacts to the neighborhoods, residents' inability to voice concerns at a public hearing, and impacts to the equipment CIP and the environment. Juba stated this legislation would not adequately address housing availability and affordability challenges, and instead the State could look at their existing mandates and learn how they have an impact. The State could provide tools and resources to make progress towards housing goals. Petryk, as a representative on the Transportation Advisory Board, said she was aware of money being spent on mass transit solutions and the need to build ridership in areas with a certain density of housing. She questioned why they were not focusing on the intercity areas. Juba explained the bill contained more requirements for areas in close proximity to transit. Petryk asked what was being heard from the other cities on these bills and the likelihood that they would pass. Juba responded that it was a bipartisan bill, and Metro Cities and the League of MN Cities are in opposition, and other communities have testified in opposition, Miron questioned whether the Metropolitan Council had weighed in on this since infrastructure was built to support their density targets, and how would they support the infrastructure with unknown growth targets. Juba responded that she did not know Met Council’s views on this. Klein talked about the need to address water if they were developing policies to create greater density. He also voiced concerns about not allowing local conversations in the decision-making process. Miron agreed and said he supported a letter stating opposition, not because a problem didn’t exist, but because there was an issue concerning purposeful planning, and what they were proposing would create unintentional consequences. Weidt talked about how the legislation would create larger problems. Mandates from the State had created a lot of costs on building, but cutting fees seemed to just increase the builders’ profits. The proposed legislation took away the citizens’ ability to have a voice and public input. He said he fully supported a strong letter of opposition and was willing to be a part of the conversation to solve this. Weidt made motion, Klein seconded, to send a letter opposing this legislation to representatives and to the hearing committee. All Ayes. Motion carried. Council Meeting Minutes for April 1, 2024 Page 5 of 5 Miron added that he felt it was prudent to send to the legislators, Met Council, and the County to let them know the action the City took on this issue, and he suggested the letter be signed by the Mayor. Reminder – Local Board of Appeal and Equalization Meeting Thursday, April 4, 2024 City Administrator Bryan Bear reminded Council the Local Board of Appeal and Equalization would be held on Thursday, April 4, 2024, in the Oneka Room at City Hall from 5:30 – 7 p.m. Schedule Metro Cities Annual Meeting on Wednesday, April 24, 2024 City Administrator Bryan Bear informed Council they had been invited to attend the Metro Cities Annual Meeting on Wednesday, April 24, 2024, at the Roseville Skating Center beginning at 5 p.m. Weidt made motion, Klein seconded, to schedule a meeting to attend the Metro Cities Annual Meeting on Wednesday, April 24, 2024. All Ayes. Motion carried. Schedule Nystrom & Associates Ribbon Cutting on Tuesday, May 21, 2024 City Administrator Bryan Bear informed Council they had been invited to attend the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for Nystrom & Associates at their new location at 4638 Victor Path, Suite 900, on Tuesday, May 21, 2024, from noon to 1 p.m. Petryk made motion, Klein seconded, to schedule a meeting to attend the Nystrom & Associates Ribbon Cutting Ceremony. All Ayes. Motion carried. Adjournment Klein made motion, Miron seconded, to adjourn at 8:07 p.m. All Ayes. Motion carried. Respectfully Submitted, Michele Lindau, City Clerk