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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008-03-27 - Council MinutesCITY OF CORCORAN CITY COUNCIL MEETING March 27, 2008 CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL Call to Order The Corcoran City Council met on March 27, 2008, at city hall in Corcoran, Roll Call Minnesota. Present were Councilor Grabowski, Acting Mayor Jacobs, Councilor Hudok and Councilor Thomas. Also present were Interim City Administrator Bodem, City Planner Gartner, Police Chief Gormley, and Public Works Director Meister. Excused absence was Mayor Guenthner. Acting Mayor Jacobs called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. AGENDA APPROVAL Agenda Approval MOTION made by Grabowski, seconded by Hudok, to approve the agenda with the following modifications: Move up Item 7a — Lorretto Fire Department Year End Report and 7b — Rogers Fire Department Year End Report, to be discussed right after Open Forum. Add Item 10C - Staff Reports Add under Unscheduled Items — Email received regarding last plowing Add under Planning Commission Business — City Planner Gartner Report Add under Planning Commission Business — Cost Analysis Add under Planning Commission Business — Schedule of Comprehensive Plan Update Voting Aye: Grabowski, Hudok, Jacobs and Thomas (Motion carried 4:0) OPEN FORUM Lauren Kohnen, past building inspector, expressed his concern of some comments that were made during the temporary pool permit discussion that was discussed at the last council meeting. He explained to the council the reasoning for the temporary pool permits and read minutes from 2006 authorizing him to do the work that he did for the temporary pool permits. He feels he did no wrong and therefore doesn't feel he owes the city any money for any fees that were paid to him for doing the work that he was authorized to do. Kenny Kluck, expressed his concern regarding the bonding of about $650,000 for the Capital Improvement Program and the lack of information provided of where this money is going. Paul Boehmer, explained that The Haegers, The Hartman's, The Hillukka's and themselves presented a letter to the council regarding their concerns with the majority of the city council and the direction they have gone since the last election. In this letter they are requesting the council members to inform the residents of their future intent of the city. Councilor Hudok explained to Mr. Boehmer some of the future plans for the city. This lead into discussion about future developments and the purpose of these developments is to increase the tax base for the city. In this letter there was some concerns raised about the current staffing situation at city hall. Vice Mayor Jacobs explained that if anyone has issues or questions about the staffing situation the current Interim City Administrator would be glad to talk with them. There was some discussion about comments made from council members regarding "concerned citizens" expressing their concerns and lack of citizen attendance at the council meetings. There was some more discussion about future housing and land use of the city. Open Forum Page -1- CITY OF CORCORAN CITY COUNCIL MEETING March 27, 2008 NEW BUSINESS Loretto Fire Department Year End Report Jeff Luer Assistant Chief gave a brief history of the Loretto Fire Department. Currently there are a total of thirty members on the fire department. Last year there were a total of 167 calls, 19 of those calls were in Corcoran. He explained that they spent 35% of their man hours in Corcoran. He reviewed some of the bigger incidents that happened within the city. He took a moment to explain to the council some of the newer things happening with the fire department this year. He expressed his appreciation to the staff of Corcoran for all of their help and feels they all should be commended for their work. A question was asked about how Corcoran's budget amount to the fire department was compared to other cities. Mr. Luer answered that there was a 3% increase from last year with all of the cities. A question was asked on hot this amount is figured. Mr.Luer answered that it is calculated using a formula which is based on property values. He also explained that they are working on a new contract where then the formula will be more based on man hours. There was some discussion about a need for a new building and upcoming big purchases. Rogers Fire Department Year End Report Brad Feist, Fire Chief explained that he has been the Chief for the Rogers Fire Department for 13 years. There currently are 35 on call firefighters with the department. He explained that this is a growing fire district and it currently covers some of Corcoran, Rogers, Hassan and some of Otsego. They operate out of two stations. They were called to 541 incidents in Rogers and they were called out to 16 incidents in Corcoran. He explained that the four surrounding fire departments meet on a regular basis and are doing what they can to improve their training. He took a moment and reviewed the different type of calls they responded to in 2007 and the improvements they are planning for the future. PLANNING COMMISSION BUSINESS City Planner Recommendations for Comprehensive Plan Update City Planner Gartner presented that his list of recommendations that he has created based on previous conversations with residents and council members. The current Comprehensive plan has three phases for the sanitary sewer installations. He is recommending that the city eliminate the phasing system and go with one phase for the urban service area. The city can control the growth through the developing process. There were some concerns raised about this being presented at the meeting without notice being sent to the council members. Vice Chair Jacobs explained that this was on the previous meeting agenda but wasn't discussed during that meeting therefore he added it to this agenda. It was suggested that the list of recommendations be given to the council members for review and then added to the next meeting's agenda. Another suggestion was that the City Planner gives a brief update during the meeting and then if there is a specific item that needs thorough discussion then the item can be discussed during the next Comprehensive Plan Update workshop meeting. New Business: Loretto Fire Department Year End Report Rogers Fire Department Year End Report Planning Commission Business: City Planner Recommendations for Comp Plan Update Page -2- CITY OF CORCORAN CITY COUNCIL MEETING March 27, 2008 Cost Analysis Acting Mayor Jacobs explained that there have been some concerns raised about how the budget money is being spent. He presented some graphs that show a cost analysis between the last couple of years and explained the purpose of the costs. Schedule of Comprehensive Plan Update Acting Mayor Jacobs explained that during the January 24 meeting the schedule of the Comprehensive Plan Update was discussed. According to the schedule the update is to be completed by June 1. He asked Interim City Administrator Bodem to explain the process of how this was to be completed before June 1. Interim City Administrator Bodem explained the process and the purpose of the up coming meetings. He explained that the schedule that was presented in January is a recommendation from the Met Council. The city can work past June 1 with justification given to Met Council. There was some discussion about residents expressing their concerns about one of the joint meetings being held on Holy Thursday. This lead into a discussion about the city starting a practice of not holding meetings during holidays. UNFINISHED BUSINESS Administrator Job Description Interim City Administrator presented the updated City Administrator Position Profile and job description. MOTION made by Thomas, seconded by Grabowski to accept the City Administrator Position Profile and job description and to authorize staff to start the advertising process for the City Administrator Position. Councilor Thomas presented Interim City Administrator with some typing errors that need to be corrected. VOTE ON MOTION: Voting Aye: Grabowski, Hudok, Jacobs and Thomas (Motion carried 4:0) Pool Permits Interim City Administrator Bodem explained that pursuant to Council's request he found the city's Swimming and Pool requirements form and state code sheet. He has done some research and found that the city adopted the State Building Code and it states in there that it is a requirement for persons to pull a permit. City Attorney Langel explained that it may be best to review each permit to clarify if the fee collected was correct or not. This lead into a discussion about previous discussion about what type of pools should require a permit. Attorney Langel explained that the pools needing a permit are determined by size of the pool. The fee schedule doesn't have a separate line item for pool permits, but the fees were determined according to the building permit fee structure. Councilor Grabowski presented a temporary pool permit that a fee of $24 was collected but the size of the pool wasn't presented on the permit. Attorney Langel suggested that the permit's be reviewed and determine if a size is presented on the permit and whether there was reason to charge for the permit. This lead into Cost Analysis Schedule of Comprehensive Plan Update Unfinished Business: Administrator Job Description Pool Permits Page -3- CITY OF CORCORAN CITY COUNCIL MEETING March 27, 2008 discussion about the inconsistency of the information on the permits and the fees. Attorney Langel explained that it is up to the council to decide if the fee collected was appropriate or not and whether or not a refund should be issued. There was some discussion about Attorney Langel being in attendance at the meeting when it really wasn't necessary. This topic could have been talked about at a meeting that Attorney Langel had more reason to be in attendance. City Clerk/Treasurer Hire Interim City Administrator Bodem explained that there were about thirty applicants. City staff interviewed about seven of them. It was then narrowed down to three applicants, which Council Jacobs, Mayor Guenthner and Interim City Administrator interviewed. Staff is recommending Council to approve the hiring of Pamela Kummer as City Clerk/Treasurer. MOTION made by Thomas, seconded by Grabowski to approve staff to proceed with the hiring of Pamela Kummer as City Clerk/Treasurer. A question was asked on when Ms. Kummer could start. Interim City Administrator Bodem answered that she will start in about two weeks. It was strongly suggested that an outside accountant make sure all of the finances are in order before Ms. Kummer comes in. VOTE ON MOTION: Voting Aye: Grabowski, Hudok, Jacobs and Thomas (Motion carried 4:0) NEW BUSINESS Code Enforcement/Ordinance Issues Interim City Administrator explained that with the current staffing there really isn't anyone to check into ordinance issues and enforce the codes. He feels that this is something that needs to be looked into. Acting Mayor Jacobs explained that the Council approved to hire the Building Inspection Firm to handle code enforcement at no additional cost to the city. It was suggested that staff contact the firm and inform them of what functions the city needs them to do and review some of the procedures. There was a discussion about a sign permit that has been presented to the city that requires further review and some code enforcement. This lead into some discussion about the current sign ordinance and the status of the update of the sign ordinance. CONSENT AGENDA 8a. March 13, 2008 Council Minutes MOTION made by Thomas , seconded by Grabowski, to approve the March 13, 2008 Council minutes with the following modifications: Page 3, 4th Paragraph — add after $4900 "amount required in excessive of the $20,000 grant from Met Council," City Clerk/Treasurer Hire New Business: Code Enforcement /Ordinance Issues Consent Agenda Items Approved: March 13, 2008 Council Minutes Page -4- CITY OF CORCORAN CITY COUNCIL MEETING March 27, 2008 Page 3, 4th Paragraph — add "VOTE ON MOTION: Guenthner, Grabowski, Hudok, Jacobs and Thomas (Motion carried 5:0) Page 5, 1st sentence under lighted sign should read: "Councilor Jacobs explained that he was asked a question from a local gas station on why a neighboring gas station was able to install a lighted sign; when last summer they applied for a lighted sign but was told they had to wait until the city adopted a new sign ordinance." Page 5, 1st Paragraph under Lighted Sign — strike "Since than the sign has been installed." Page 5, 1st Paragraph under Lighted Sign: Strike "Variance" from the last sentence. Voting aye: Grabowski, Hudok, Jacobs and Thomas (Motion carried 4:0) CLAIMS a. Escrow Claims (Fund #500) $ 57.50 MOTION made by Thomas, seconded by Grabowski, to approve the escrow claims as presented, totaling $57.50. Voting Aye: Grabowski, Hudok, Jacobs and Thomas (Motion carried 4:0) b. Building Inspection Claims $736.75 MOTION made by Thomas, seconded by Hudok, to approve the Building Inspection Claims as presented, totaling $736.75. Voting Aye: Grabowski, Hudok, Jacobs and Thomas (Motion carried 4:0) c. All Other Claims $71,249.71 MOTION made by Grabowski, seconded by Hudok, to approve the all other claims as presented, totaling $. Voting Aye: Grabowski, Hudok, Jacobs and Thomas (Motion carried 4:0) Council and Staff Reports Miscellaneous Correspondence Interim City Administrator Bodem presented correspondence that has been presented to him. He explained that one of the handouts is information that was received from Planner Gartner regarding a $100,000 grant from Thousand Friends. Staff feels this would be a good grant for the city to apply for. It was suggested that Council have some time to review the information and this topic to be added to the next council meeting. He explained that another correspondence from Planner Gartner was presented regarding A -1 Outdoor Power Expansion. He explained that they have been meeting with them regarding the expansion. One of the issues that is being addressed is the outside storage and another issue is the potential realignment of driveway's and accesses on county road 10. He explained the locations of the realignments. Staff is requesting the council think about using pay as you go TIF for this and to direct staff on how far they should pursue this. It was noted that the applicant hasn't applied for a permit yet, they are just looking for council's opinion on this and if this is something they could pursue. It was suggested that all of the information be presented to the council at a future meeting for discussion. Approval of Claims Council and Staff Reports: Miscellaneous Correspondence Page -5- CITY OF CORCORAN CITY COUNCIL MEETING March 27, 2008 Planning Commission Chair Milbrandt explained her concern that this hasn't been presented to the Planning Commission. Planner Gartner presented some documents that he received from the Federal Energy Regulator Commission. The Northern Natural Gas Company is proposing a high pressure gas line that will be coming through the city. There isn't a specific location yet. He explained that there will be a meeting on Tuesday, April 16 at 1:00 pm. There will be a site visit of the Corcoran proposed locations. Interim City Administrator Bodem explained that he has received a draft of the audit and he is suggesting Council to have a workshop on April 10, starting at 6 pm to review the audit material. Acting Mayor Jacobs called a pre -audit workshop to be held on April 10 starting at 6:00 pm. Parks & Trails Commission Meeting There was no report given at this time. Attorney Report Attorney Langel reported that the former City Administrator has filed a grievance against the city. He explained the process and status of the grievance. UNSCHEDULED ITEMS Email Received Councilor Hudok presented an email that he received regarding some damage done to a front yard. Interim City Administrator Bodem reported that Public Works Director Meister has contacted the resident and he has agreed to restore the yard to the way it was. ADJOURNMENT MOTION made by Thomas, seconded by Grabowski, to adjourn at 9:25 p.m. Voting Aye: Grabowski, Jacobs, Hudok and Thomas (Motion carried 4:0) Interim it Administrator Todd Bodem y Parks & Trails Commission Meeting Attorney Report Unscheduled Items Email Received Adjournment Page -6-