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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1987.04.20 CC Minutes41 MINUTES OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE HUGO CITY COUNCIL April 20, 1987 The regular meeting of the Hugo City Council was called to order at 7:00 PM. PRESENT: Peltier, Potts, Olson, Vail, Atkinson City Attorney, Charles Johnson City Administrator, Kenneth Huber 3. Approval of Minutes Motion made by Peltier, Potts seconded, to approve the minutes for April 6, 1987 as submitted. All aye. Motion Carried. 4. Approval of Claims Motion made by Peltier Vail seconded, to approve the General Claims for April 20, 1987 in the amount of $9,166.31. All aye. Motion Carried. Motion made by Potts, Peltier seconded, to approve the Utility Claims for April 20, 1987, in the smount of $386.21. All aye. Motion Carried. 7.A Wally Otto - Site Plan Approval Pursuant to a stipulated agreement between the attorney for the City of Hugo and the attorney for Mr. Wally Otto, Mr. Otto has paid a $118.00 building permit fee to the city, and is applying for site plan approval for a previously constructed 54.x 90 pole barn building on his property per the submitted site plan. In December, 1985, the city building inspector noted that a new structure had been built on Mr. Otto's property without a building permit. In February, 1986, the assessor, Francis Langer, inspected the property and noted that Mr. Otto had constructed a 54 x 90 pole barn shed, and it was being used for commercial storage as well as personal and agricultural storage. The City of Hugo took Mr. Otto to court stating that he failed to secure a building permit, and was operating a commercial storage building in an agriculture zone in violation of city ordinance. Mr. Otto has assured the the city that he no longer uses the building in question for commercial storage, and said building will be used only for storage of his personal property and personal agriculture equipment. The city has stated that if Mr. Otto complies with all the conditions of the stipu- lated agreement, all criminal charges will be dismissed. Since the original charges were filed against Mr. Otto, he has secured an additional 15 acres to his site exempting him from the square foot limitation for accessory buildings in an agricultural zone. If the City Council wishes to approve the enclosed site plan, we would recommend that said action be consistent with the stipulated agreement of the two parties, and said approval be subject to the following conditions: 1. The 54 x 90 pole barn building not be used for commercial or industrial purposes at any time. 2. No additional buildings be constructed on site without first securing a building permit from the city of Hugo. 42 April 20, 1987 3. The site remain in a 20 acre tract which is necessary to accommodate the number of accessory buildings on the site. 4. All activities on the site in question are in compliance with the municipal code. Attorney Johnson stated that in the past, the city required that in a case similar to this situation, the two parcels be joined to create a single piece of property with one legal description thereby creating the required lot size. In the event the two parcels could not be combined because of problems with mortgaging, the city placed restrictions on the parcels in that they could be not be subdivided. Mr. Otto stated that he has fee title to the 15 acres and would have fee title to the 5 acres within 30 days. Mr. Otto stated the the city has "his word" that there would be no subdivision of his property, and that steps would be taken to have the two parcels combined. Motion made by Peltier, Potts seconded, to approve the site plan as submitted by Wally Otto, for the construction of a 54 x 90 pole barn on part of N2 of the SW4 of Section 26, T31N, R21W, subject to the following conditions: 1. The 54 x 90 pole barn building not be used for commercial or industrial pur- poses at any time. 2. No additional buildings be constructed on site without first securing a building permit from the City of Hugo. 3. The site remain in a 20 acre tract which is necessary to accommodate the number of accessory buildings on the site. 4. All activities on the site in question are in compliance with the municipal code. 5. The 5 and 15 acre tracts of land be resubdivided into one parcel. This resub- division process shall begin within 90 days. This approval for Mr. Otto's site plan shall also reference the 6 conditions stipulated in Mr. John Hennen's letter to former Mayor, J. Michael McAllister, dated August 27, 1986. All aye. Motion Carried. 7.B Review Engineering Report (Hugo Meadows) Mr. Kuusisto was unavailable for tonight's meeting. This matter will be placed on the agenda for the City Council meeting of May 4, 1987. 8.A Accept Annual Municipal Audit The city's auditors have completed the audit of the general and utility funds for the 1986 fiscal year. Motion made by Potts, Peltier seconded, to accept the annual municipal audit for the 1986 fiscal year. All aye. Motion Carried. 8.B Establish Taxing District for Brown's Creek WMO Minnesota statute permits the establishment of taxing districts for watershed orga- nizations to fund themselves. Currently, the City .of Hugo levies approximately 43 April 20, 1987 $1,000.00 annually from its general fund to pay the city's share of operation of the Brown's Creek WMO. If Minnesota statute permits establishment of the taxing districts, we would recommend that the city discontinue this tax levy from the general fund, and the appropriate steps be taken to allow Brown's Creek to levy taxes in the City of Hugo to support the city's share of the organization. Mayor Atkinson questioned whether the general fund could recoup the money paid them in years past. Motion made by Potts, Vail seconded, directing the city attorney to advise the Council as to what methodsare required for the forming of a Brown's Creek WMO taxing district. All aye. Motion Carried. 8.0 Use of County for On-site Septic Inspections Currently, the City of Hugo does not inpsect and certify on-site septic systems. The city receives numerous requests each month from property owners who need a septic system inspection prior to securing financing for the purchase/refinancing of existing homes. In 1986, the City Council passed a resolution stating that the city would not provide inspections or certification services for wells or septic systems. This policy has created a great deal of difficulty for existing and future residents of Hugo when obtaining home financing. Washington County code enforcement officials have indicated a willingness to provide this service to residents if the city wishes to enter a contractural agreement with the county for this service. Cost of the service would be borne by those requesting the inspection, and all paperwork would be handled by the county. The county will not certify a system if,in their opinion, a septic system is defective. Motion made by Potts that Hugo enter into an agreement with Washington County for inspection of on-site septic systems for purposes of certification for financial institutions. Potts withdrew his motion. Motion made by Atkinson, Peltier seconded, authorizing the staff to draft an agreement with Washington County for submittal to the City Council for their review. All aye. Motion Carried. 8.D Authorize Summer Intern In reviewing the record keeping needs of the city, I am recommending that the City Council authorize recruitment of an administrative intern for a 17 week period during summer and fall of this year. The estimated cost of a graduate -level intern would be approximately $2,800 (32 hours per week, $5.00/hour) for this period. The primary responsibility of the intern would be as follows: 1. Establish an address filing system beginning with zoning and code enforcement records. 2. Set up a certificate of survey filing system, and make sure all certificates of survey, approved by the city, have been recorded with the county. 3. Set up a filing system for subdivision plats. 4. Locate and record unrecorded easements. 5. Assist with preparation of the comprehensive plan map. 6. Prepare composite plat map for daily reference. 7. Perform other duties as required by the city administrator M11 April 20, 1987 The establishment of a sound record keeping system can save hundreds of hours annually in staff research time. Although many improvements have been made in the filing system to date, it would be virtually impossible to go back and dig up all old records to see that they are put in the property files with the existing staff. Motion made by Atkinson, Olson seconded, that the City Council authorize the City Administrator to hire a summer intern with the following primary responsi- bilities: 1. Establish an address filing system beginning with zoning and code enforcement records. 2. Set up a certificate of survey filing system and make sure all certificates of survey, approved by the city, have been recorded with the county. 3. Set up a filing system for shbdivision plats. 4. Locate and record unrecorded easements. 5. Assist with preparation of the comprehensive plan map. 6. Prepare composite plat map for daily reference. 7. Perform other duties as required by the city administrator. VOTING AYE: Potts, Olson, Vail, Atkinson VOTING NAY: Peltier Motion Carried. 8.E Authorize Computer Purchase In the Fall of 1986, the City Council budgeted approximately $6,000 for the pur- chase of computer hardware and software for the city's administrative offices. To date, the city has ordered one Epson Equity II computer with printer and necessary software for wordprocessing ( cost $2,400.00). Because of changing prices in a rapidly changing industry, the city now has an opportunity to purchase a computer for approximately $1,400.00. When considering all three office personnel have no background in computer operation, we are concerned with the availability of the equipment for learning purposes as well as wordprocessing. A second computer will also allow both clerical personnel to do wordprocessing simultaneously when needed. Initially, we had anticipated spending between $3,500 and $4,000 for computer hardware and $2,000 for software. It would appear that we could stay well within the budget and our original plans even with the acquisition of a second computer. Motion made by Atkinson, Potts xconded, authorizing the City Administrator to purchase an additional computer for approximately $1,450.00. All. aye. Motion Carried. 10. Reports of Officers and Committees Attorney Johnson submitted his monthly report and a copy of the city's Answer and Counter claim regarding the White Bear Rod and Gun Club. Attorney Johnson was requested to appear at the next regular Council meeting, May 4, 1987, along with Howard Kuusisto, to discuss the proposed changes in the city's Mining Ordinance. Building Inspector, Tom Crever, stated that he has received applications for building permits for Lots 7 and 8 in Valley View Terrance. He was of the opinion that no permits were to be issued for those lots until they were served by city improvements. April 20, 1987 Valley View Terrace is a plat of record and part of the development of Hugo Meadows but -not part of the subdivision.- The -Council reaffirmed that any new homes in this area must be connected to sewer and watermains. John Johnson, Herila and Associates, engineers representing Harstad and Associates, was present for this discussion, and stated that he will inform Harstad and Associates that the City of Hugo will require a letter of agreement from them stating that no certificates of occupancy will be issued until Lots 7 and 8 are connected to city water and sewer. After receipt of this letter of agreement from Harstad and Associates and the builders, building permits can then be issued. Mayor Atkinson stated that he would like the Fire Chief's comments regarding whether 6" watermains are adequate to serve fire hydrants in Hugo Meadows. At this point, Hugo Meadows has only sketch plan approval. After acceptance of the feasibility study, the preliminary plat must then go before the Planning Commission (May 27, 1987) for approval. 11. Miscellaneous Marvin Cofer directed correspondence to Councilman Deane Vail regarding the cleaning of drainage ditches adjacent to his property in Oakshore Park. Because of ponding of water to the rear of his property, his septic system is unable to function properly. A rough guess is that approximately 1,000 feet of ditch would need to be cleaned which would mean an expensive project. Councilman Vail was instructed to contact Mr. Cofer informing him that the city has suggested that he obtain a petition for public improvement from adjoining property owners for submission to the city. With the petition in hand, the city can request an engineering study for the ditch - cleaning, and assess the improvement to the benefiting property owners. Mayor Atkinson inquired about the next steps the city would need to take to establish a compost site within the city. City Administrator, Ken Huber, stated that the summer intern could attempt to find possible sites for a composting facility. 12. Adjournment Motion made by Vail, Peltier seconded, to adjourn at 9:00 PM. All aye. Motion Carried. Mary?fHugo reager, Clerk City