HomeMy WebLinkAbout1989.07.17 CC MinutesMINUTES_FOR THE_REGUtAR_CITY QUNI�IL MEETING OF JULY 17, 19S9
The meeting was called to order by Mayor Atkinson at 7:00 PM.
PRESENT: McAllister, Jesinski, Olson, Vail, Atkinson
City Administrator, Ken Huber
City Attorney, Charles Johnson
City Clerk, Mary Ann Creager
Jesinski made motion, Olson seconded, to apparove the minutes for the
regular City Council meeting of July 5, 1989 as submitted.
All aye. Motion Carried.
Olson made motion, Vail seconded, to approve the General Claims for July.
17, 1989 in the amount of $20,802.30.
All aye. Motion Carried.
Vail made motion, Olson seconded, to approve the Utility Claims for July
17, 1989 in the amount of $1,011.83.
All aye. Motion Carried.
Atkinson made motion, Olson seconded, stating that the City of Hugo has no
objection to the issuance of a Gambling License to the Church of St. John
the Baptist, and waiver of the 60 day waiting period.
All aye. Motion Carried.
CITY ASSESSOH_FEE INCREASE
As per the City Council's direction, the staff met with city assessor,
Frank Langer, to discuss his proposed fee increase for assessment service'
Mr. Langer has requested an increase to $6'00 per parcel from the current
$4.80 rate' The City of Hugo has approximately 2,075 parcels which must
be reviewed every year, by the city assessor, per Minnesota Statutes' 25%
of the parcels must involve a site visit and preparation of site plans and
value adjustments each year. These parcels include both raw land and
buildings. For the last several years, the City of Hugo has been paying
Mr. Langer in advance of services performed' His work period for
assessment purposes begins in July of each year and ends in May of the
following year. Mr. Langer is requesting the increase referenced above,
and payment upon completion of work, rather than being paid in advance of
the work performed. Mr. Langer has stated that the reason for the fee
increase is because the State now requires that a significantly larger
amount of work and documentation be provided on each parcel prior to
submittal to the County. Mr. Langer's proposed fee structure for
surrounding communities is as follows: Lake Elmo ($6.25), Mahtomedi
($6.25), Scandia ($6.00), and Marine on the St. Croix ($6.00). If this
increase is authorized by the City Council, it can be budgeted in 1989 for
payment to Mr. Langer in 1990. Mr. Langer now has to subcontract out
about $600-$900 worth of clerical work for Hugo each year as a result of
�lO
City Council meeting of July 17, 1989
Page 2
the new State and County requirements. Building diagrams now have to be
included on field cards, and more information is required for entering
into the County's new recordk:eeping system. City staff can see no problem
with the increase proposed as Mr. Langer's request appears to be justified
based on the increased workload and the City's ability to budget for this
increase in 19?0.
McAllister made motion, Olson seconded, that Mr. Langer's request for an
increase for assessment service to $6.00 per parcel be included in the
City's 1990 budget.
All aye. Motion Carried.
VARIANCE REQUEST - GARAGE (J. HALL
On behalf of Mr. James Hall, the Thomas Garley Construction Company has
made application to the City of Hugo for a variance to construct a 768
square foot attached garage at 1 450 Janero Avenue North (aka Lot 7, Block
1, Palmes Long Lake Estates), The property in question is zoned RRA, and
the lot contains approximately 5 acres. The City code limits the size of
garages to 720 square feet, and the Council has been issuing variances
allowing for attached garages that do not exceed the square footage of the
residence on site. City staff can see no problem with the issuance of
this variance as it is consistent with past Council practice dealing with
residential garages.
Atkinson made motion, Vail seconded, to approve the application of Thomas
Garley Construction, on behalf of James Hall, 12450 Janero Avenue (aka Lot
71 Block: 1, F°almes Long Lake Estates) for a variance to construct a 768
square foot attached residential garage exceeding the allowable 720 sq ft:.
by 48 feet.
All aye. Motion Carried.
CHANGE ORDER *1
The city engineer is recommending a change order providing for 1,100 t.ct;-;s
of l.imerock aggregate as =shouldering for the 165th Street overlay project..
The contractor has indicated he will provide the Iimerock aggregate at t.i-;e
same unit price bid for the other road construction projects. The total
estimated cost, as submitted by the city engineer, is. $10,6,: C+.00 from the
General Fund. _
McAllister made motion, Vail seconded, to approve the Change girder #1, in
the amount of $10,670.00, providing for 1.,100 tons or llmerock aggregate
as shouldering for the 165th Street overlay project.
All aye. notion Carried.
1 NG S
When the City went to bids for its CIP, one of the improvement ar-r-:is
included was the 146th and 147th street r.ai.l.r'c:i%-+d L-rC:iss.l.rif_as., ;he tCl'l"al bid
to improve e these areas w:-.'- $11,848.00. The C::...ty d"._C(_:rifi_d this phase o
City Council meeting of July 17, 1989
Page 3
the project as the Burlington Northern Railroad indicated they were going
to be making improvements at these intersections if the City did not.
Because of the potential inconvenience to the public for an extended
period of time, and the difficulties in installing these railroad
crossings, City staff is recommending that this item be added back into
the project. Valley Paving would then be authorized to proceed to make
these improvements as originally bid. They have indicated to us that they
will honor their original bid price for this work. After lengthy
discussions with the city engineer, we have agreed that the City may be
"penny wise and dollar foolish" to try and piecemeal this improvement with
three or four different parties involved. No one seems to want to take
responsibility for it, and no one will make any commitment as to how and
when the work will be done. City staff is recommending that Valley Paving
make these improvements, and the City submit a bill to the railroad for
reimbursement, taking our chances that they will pay part of the cost.
McAllister made motion, Jesinski seconded, to include the improvement of
the 146th and 147th Street railroad crossings, in the amount of
$11,848.00, in the City's CIP as originally bid.
All aye. Motion Carried.
PETITION FOR PUBLIE-IOPROVEMENI - SIDEWALK
Leon and Diane Nadeau have made application to the City of Hugo for
sidewalk improvement in front of their store on Highway 61 involving
approximately 130' of walkway. The property in question is identified as
County Auditor's Plat No. 7, part of Lot 11, Lot 12, and part of Lot 13.
The area in question is adjacent to the parking lot which is the primary
entrance to Nadeau's Market. It appears from the application submitted
that Mr. Nadeau is petitioning for the improvement pursuant to Chapter 429
of the Public Improvement Code. Because of the small size of this
project, using Chapter 429 will probably result in the cost of hearings,
engineering, administrative fees, and other expenses exceeding the total
construction cost of the project itself. The portion of sidewalk in
question is definitely in need of repair, and some type of improvement
should be considered- This portion of sidewalk has been replaced on two
previous occasions by the City in the last five years. Two primary things
that the City Council should consider in this request are as follows: 1}
The City's desire to pursue this application pursuant to Chapter 429 of
the Public Improvement Code, and 2) Does the City want to establish a
policy of sidewalk replacement at City expense as opposed to charging the
abutting property owners for the improvement? In reviewing this
situation, it appears that there are number of avenues that the City
Council could pursue to in addressing this request:
1. Follow through on the petition as submitted.
2. Look into the possibility of patching the sidewalk area in question
with bituminous down to the roadway.
3. Consider replacement of the entire sidewalk area at the time Highway
61 is improved in the next year or two.
4. The City Council could take the initiative to improve the entire
section of sidewalk adjacent to Highway 61 in the downtown pursuant to
Chapter 429 of the Public Improvement Code.
City Council meeting of July 17, 1989
Page 4
5. The City could go in and just repair the driveway entrances at City
expense with the understanding that they will be setting a precedent
for making similar repairs to other driveway entrances at City expense
in the future.
6. The City could authorize Mr. Nadeau to make the repairs in question at
his expense as per City design requirements, and the City could
reimburse Mr. Nadeau for a portion of the cost he would incur in
making this improvement.
Mayor Atkinson stated that because MNDOT would be upgrading Highway 61 in
the next 2 to 3 years, the City Council consider Option #2 to temporarily
resolve the problem.
Atkinson made motion, Olson seconded, that the City of Hugo deny the
petition of Leon and Diane Nadeau for sidewalk improvement in front their
store on Highway 61 involving approximately 1W of walkway at this time,
as petitioaned for, in light of the administration cost, and the fact that
MNDOT is to improve Highway 61 in the next two to three years.
All aye. Motion Carried.
Atkinson made motion, Vail seconded, authorizing City staff to proceed
with the bituminous repair of walkway in front of Nadeau's Market and
elsewhere adjacent to Highway 61.
All aye. Motion Carried.
MEETING WITH LINO LAKES OFFICIALS --MAYOR ATK I NSON
Mayor Atkinson stated that representatives of Lino Lakes were interested
in finding a solution to the Elmcrest Avenue problem. It is Li.no's
representatives' intent to take the matter to the City Council to see how
they would like to proceed with improvements to Elmcrest Avenue. Lino
Lakes' administrator, Randy Schumacher, and Hugo's administrator, Ken
Haber, will be gettinq toqether to further discuss this matter.
RICHARD SCHUH MINING PERMIT - STATUS
Mayor Atkinson directed City staff to have an engineering inspection of
the Schuh gravel pit, and note in particular, exactly where in the pit the
gravel is being obtained to make sure the location is within the
boundaries of the legal description provided by Mr. Schuh.
City Council meeting of July 17, 1989
Page 4
BUDGET CAi._ENDAF:
A budget calendar was submitted to the Council outlining the planned
itinerary for adoption of the 1590 budget.
M I SCFLLANEO(.JS
FOREST i..Ak;E" `v'O(..11-H SERVICE BUREAUR POR
A representative from the FLY Service r -amu failed to appear.
9�
City Council meeting of July 17, 1989
Page 5
The City received a letter from White Bear Lake City Administrator, Mark:
Sather, regarding Hugo's participation in user fees for the new recreation
center- located in the old White Bear Tennis complex south of Highway 96
Mayor Atkinson directed City staff to attend any meetings, if possible,
and report to the City Council. Because school district voters turned
down the proposal several times, Councilman McAllister did not feel City
staff should use their time on this matter.
City attorney, Charles Johnson, reported that the attorney for the White
Near Rod and Gun Club would like to schedule an informal meeting with him
and the gun club's noise expert to determine if there is any area of
compromise. Mr. Johnson felt that the meeting could be worthwhile, and
recommended that the City Council approve the informal meeting. He
assured the Council that he would make no commitments on behalf of the
City. Because this matter was not on the agenda, Councilman McAllister
did not feel the Council should make a recommendation regarding_ the
proposed meeting, and asked that the Council meet in executive session.
Atkinson made motion, Vail seconded, that the City Council authorize the
City Attorney and noise consultant to meet with representatives of the
White Bear Rod and Gun Club to determine if a compromise could be reached
relative to the longstanding litigation between the two parties. Mr.
Johnson is not to make any commitments on behalf of the City of Hugo,
unless authorized by the City Council T
VOTING AYE: Jesinsk:i, Olson, Vail
VOTING NAY: McAllister, Atkinson
Motion Carried.
Mayor Atkinson directed City staff to take whatever legal steps are
necessary so that the City Council can meet in executive session on August
7, 1989, at 6:00 PH, to discuss litigation between the White Bear Rod and
Gun Club and the City of Hugo.
Vail made motion, Jesinsk:3 seconded, to adjourn at 7:55 PH.
All aye. Motion
Mar iiiii
Creager,
i_ i t. Huno
Carried.
Ci TV erk