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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008-06-12 - Council MinutesCITY OF CORCORAN CITY COUNCIL MEETING June 12, 2008 Agenda Item 9a. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL Call to Order The Corcoran City Council met on June 12, 2008, at City Hall in Corcoran, Roll Call Minnesota. Present were Mayor Guenthner, Councilor Jacobs, Councilor Hudok Councilor Thomas and Councilor Grabowski. Also present were Interim City Administrator Bodem, City Planner Gartner, city Engineer Rhein, Police Chief Gormley, City Attorney Langel, and Building Inspector Qualle. Mayor Guenthner called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. AGENDA APPROVAL Interim City Administrator Bodem requested to add the application from Hennepin County Fair to Agenda item 10d, for approval on the fireworks display for June 21, 2008. Also, Agenda Item 6a. change word compressive to comprehensive. City Planner Gartner requested moving Agenda item 9f Resolution Elm Creek Interceptor to 5b due to the Resolution fitting in with the discussion for that item involving Water Reclamation / Decentralized Sewer System. Mayor Guenthner requested to change order of Agenda Item 4. Agenda Item 4a changed to Proclamation Officer Brian Fragodt and Agenda Item 4b. changed to Hamel Fire Department — Brian Guest. Councilor Jacobs requested to add under Agenda Item 10e. Election Filing Dates. Councilor Thomas requested to combine Agenda Item 7b and 7c. Councilor Thomas requested that Agenda Item 7d. be deleted as an agenda item. MOTION made by Thomas, seconded by Guenthner to remove Agenda Item 7d. Jacobs e-mail (Star Trib. Article) for discussion. Councilor Thomas questioned why the city is spending city resources regarding the Mayor's opinion piece in the Star Tribune and is wondering why this is on the agenda. Thomas believes there is no action needed therefore it should be removed. Councilor Jacobs responded that the Star Tribune document states that Planner Gartner is failing his fiduciary responsibility and not serving in the best interest of the City but is working on behalf of other outside interest as an employee or contract employee of the City. Councilor Jacob's stated that this is factually incorrect and there is no special interest served. Councilor Jacobs believes Planner Gartner is owed an apology. Mayor Guenthner responded and in this was his own opinion piece and called for a vote. Voting Aye: Guenthner and Thomas. Voting Nay: Hudok, Jacobs and Grabowski (Motion defeated 3:2). MOTION made by Thomas, seconded by Grabowski to approve the agenda with the modifications noted above. Agenda Approval Page -1- CITY OF CORCORAN CITY COUNCIL MEETING June 12, 2008 Voting Aye: Guenthner, Hudok, Jacobs, Grabowski, and Thomas (Motion carried 5:0) Agenda Item 9a. 4. OPEN FORUM Audience member Mr. Demming raised a concern about the ordinance on keeping animals. The Code Enforcement and the Interim City Administrator were going to review this issue and see what can be worked out concerning the Demming's and the Neighbors. Thomas suggested moving this discussion to Agenda Item 7b. Waldron Claims and Building inspection criteria. 4a. Proclamation Officer Brian Fragodt A plaque was presented to Officer Brian Fragodt for his lifesaving efforts demonstrated on May 18, 2008 while off -duty in Aitkin County, Minnesota. 4b. Hamel Fire Department — Brandon Guest A presentation was made by Hamel Fire Department, Chief Brandon Guest. The presentation summarized the annual report and the services provided to Corcoran in 2007 and 2008 thus far. Also summarized new equipment and project for 2007 and 2008. Mayor Guenthner stated that the capital equipment fund is on a cost sharing basis. The question was asked, "How is the fund structured, How do you forecast financing the fund, and Does Corcoran contribute to the fund out of the annual assessment? Chief Brandon Guest response was that for projects done today; the two former city administrators put together a cost sharing formula, which was funded through equipment certificates. Now, as this closes out, they will go through the next round of looking at the funding, what is required of the future, recompile the cost sharing, and figure out where the funds are going to come from. 5. PLANNING — NORM GARTNER 5a. Water Reclamation / Decentralized Sewer System City Planner, Gartner gave a presentation on the water system and how to protect the supply of water for future Corcoran residents. He suggests installing a water reclamation facility and reusing this water, instead of paying the Metropolitan Council to dispose of it. City Planner Gartner stated that water reclamation and decentralized sewer systems have the potential to reduce or eliminate large amounts of wastewater from Metropolitan sewer systems. This can result in delaying or eliminating sewer upgrades and impact regional wastewater fees. Water Reclamation is the comprehensive recycling of wastewater, restoring it to a state that allows for its beneficial reuse. Decentralized Sewer Systems are small wastewater treatment systems servicing small clusters of housing or commercial and industrial use. City Planner Gartner recommends amending the current Comprehensive Plan to allow for the provision of water reclamation facilities and decentralized wastewater treatment facilities. Also, that the City of Corcoran should adopt water conservation measures before constructing the infrastructure. In conclusion, it was recommended that the City of Corcoran adopt a rate structure penalizing water Open Forum Planning — Norm Gartner Page -2- CITY OF CORCORAN CITY COUNCIL MEETING June 12, 2008 users using large quantities of water. Mayor Guenthner suggested we combined 5a. and 5b. to be made part of the Comprehensive Land Use Plan — Infrastructure discussion (Item 6c) knowing these are one in the same topic. 5b. 2008 -27 Resolution Elm Creek Interceptor The Planning Commission made a recommendation to Council for approval of Resolution 2008 -27 — Elm Creek Interceptor. This Resolution is asking Council to work with Maple Grove regarding the feasibility of additional sewer capacity. No motion made to approve resolution as it is a bit premature. 6. UNFINISHED BUSINESS 6a. Utility Agreement City of Medina Mayor Guenthner stated that the Medina City Council will be reviewing the Utility Agreement contract at their meeting Tuesday, June 17, 2008. Corcoran Council members need to read the material included in the Council packet for reintroduction at the July 10, 2008 Council Meeting with a presentation from all of our consultants for further study by Council. Additional information will be forthcoming as they come back from Medina on June 17t. 6b. Northwest Hennepin County I -94 Sub -Area Transportation Study Mayor Guenthner stated that the Northwest Hennepin county I -94 Sub -Area Transportation Study commissioned by Dayton and Hassan and the developer for the Stone's Throw Project across the northern border studied transportation issues surrounded to the I -94 Corridor in the area. The study is completed and a hard copy and disc is available at the City Hall for public viewing. 6c. Comprehensive Land Use Plan — Infrastructure Council by vote determines whether to continue discussion without any of the following record of final vote. Summary provided from the various land use meetings. Below is the action taken by Council: COMPREHENSIVE PLAN WASTEWATER/WATER Comments and Requested Revisions I. GENERAL POLICY ISSUES. CITY COUNCIL CONSENSUS OF 4/5 VOTE ACCEPTED a. Review and adjust sewer phasing periods. b. Update sewer /water connection data and related population and development projections. c. Discuss water reclamation and decentralized sewer systems and the potential to utilize them in the greater Corcoran. (Item 4, 6 & 7 combined) CITY COUNCIL CONSENSUS OF NOT RECEIVING 4/5 VOTE Agenda Item 9a. Unfinished Business Page -3- CITY OF CORCORAN CITY COUNCIL MEETING June 12, 2008 DROPPED a. Remove sanitary sewer from Comprehensive Plan. b. Use vacuum, pressurized, hold and truck, or other onsite treatment and re -use systems, based on City and user cost benefit analysis. II. SPECIFIC PROPERTY ISSUES CITY COUNCIL CONSENSUS OF REVIEWING ALL BOUNDARY LINES WITH RESPECT OF INDIVIDUAL SELECTED PROPERTIES IS MADE INTO AN ORDINANCE, RESOLUTION OR POLICY FOR THE FOLLOWING THREE ITEMS. 4/5 VOTE ACCEPTED. a. Place Oak Ridge Farm 3rd Addition in the same sewer phasing schedule as the 118 acres directly west. b. Include the east side of rolling hills Road in the southwest sewer district. c. Change the sewer phasing schedule (from 2015 -2020) fro the NW comer of County 30 /Cty 116. III. QUESTIONS SUBMITTED AS COMMENTS a. Are the sewer capacities set for the districts? Mayor Guenthner stated that data will be available to answer this question. b. Can the Met Council help negotiate a joint powers agreement with Maple Grove concerning the Appaloosa Woods addition? Mayor Guenthner stated that this is less a Comp. Plan issue than it is a Utility issue. c. Where are the connections to sanitary sewer going to be? What is the estimated invert elevation? Mayor Guenthner stated that engineering data is available. It was also stated that the public needs to be directed to staff due to data being available. d. Are the sewer connections on schedule? This was answered earlier in the Council Meeting. Mayor Guenthner suggested to the public to attend the June 26, 2008 Council Meeting discussing Transportation. The following questions can be discussed at that time. Mayor Guenthner will be absent, Deputy Mayor Jacobs to chair the meeting. e. What would be the repercussions of changing the Comprehensive Plan to prevent Urban Development that require sewer and water? f. Should the sewer from downtown be sent to the north rather than being sent to the East temporarily? g. When will Sewer and Water be available along Co. Rd 101? h. When will the sewer be started/completed on the east end of Co. Rd. 10 by Lion's Park? Agenda Item 9a. Page -4- CITY OF CORCORAN CITY COUNCIL MEETING June 12, 2008 Agenda Item 9a. 7. NEW BUSINESS 7a. Proposal/Contract for City Assessor City Assessor Risch and Erickson are proposing a new contract for city assessing services for the period of October 1, 2008 to September 30, 2009 with an increase of 3 %. The expense for mileage and benefits continue to increase along with inflation is why this has been requested. There was some discussion comparing existing assessing services with what the County provides. MOTION made by Thomas, seconded by Grabowski to approve the execution of the contract proposal with Greater NW Office for city assessing services. Voting Aye: Guenthner, Thomas, Hudok, Jacobs and Grabowski. (Motion carried 5:0) 7b. Waldron Claims / Building Inspection Criteria The Waldron and Associates agenda item was brought back to this meeting because Council tabled their claims approval at the May 22, 2008 City Council meeting. This was due to the fact there was no underlying information but only a raw number. Council Member Thomas raised a concern that Waldron and Associates is costing the City more money then Metro West Inspections. Interim City Administrator Bodem understands that in comparing the two firms based on the spreadsheet created by city staff that Waldron is costing the City more based on the spreadsheet provided. Building Inspector Qualle stated that he could setup a line -by -line item list so that the City can see what is being charged because the spreadsheet is in a different form than Waldron's analysis. Qualle also stated that Waldron and Associates is providing additional services not demonstrated on this spreadsheet. Duties performed by others in the past are now being completed by Waldron and Associates. Qualle added that the billing is for all of the services under the contract that we provide additional hours regarding animal nuisance issues, liquor licenses, fire inspections, zoning, quarterly fire chief meetings, City Council meetings, etc. Qualle believes the cost comparison is not entirely a fair comparison. Council Member Thomas believes we have lost the rural treatment and City history and thinks we are taking the wrong course with Waldron and Associates and we should return to Metro West. Mayor Guenthner stated he is impressed with the way Waldron and Associates conducts business but never had concerns with Metro West. Councilmember Hudok stated that the comparison does not show additional services, turn- around -time, service delivery, resources, treatment, etc. The City Council should provide clear direction and expectation on who should take on various duties and functions. Mayor Guenthner explained our cost is less than what they are today and that we had a more economical model in the past. Council Member Grabowski noted that a person complained about Metro West at a Council meeting in open forum and that decisions made by Metro West was more politically based rather then professionally based. He believes we are getting New Business Page -5- CITY OF CORCORAN CITY COUNCIL MEETING June 12, 2008 Agenda Item 9a. better service that is not quantified in the data provided. MOTION made by Thomas, seconded by Guenthner to discuss and review replacing Waldron and Associates with Metro West Inspections. Voting Aye: Thomas and Guenthner. Voting Nay: Grabowski, Jacobs, and Hudok. (Motion defeated: 2:3) Building Inspector Qualle has issued a code ordinance to the Deming's because they do not meet the City Ordinance on Farm animals. The Deming's have an inventory of 2 horses, 3 miniature horses, 15 full size goats, 12 -13 miniature goats, 2 dogs, and 2 cats. The minimum lot size is 3 acres. The Deming's live on 2.4 acres of land and are over the legal limit according to the ordinance. Mr. Deming stated that the previous code enforcer and city administrator were working on this to see what they could do. Due to staff turnover, Building Inspector Qualle has been asked to get involved in the issue. He reviewed the city code regarding farm animals, and the Deming's are not allowed animal units per the ordinance. Deming has lived in Corcoran since 1972 and was able to have 5 horses at that time. It was stated that we were under the impression that the Deming's were grandfathered in when the ordinance took place. He suggests going back and seeing if there are fractional animal rights on parcels less than three acres. Council Member Thomas stated that the ordinance needs to be worked on and suggests that the City needs reworking with better descriptions and acreage allotment. Council Member Hudok stated this was a neighborhood dispute and asked if this is how it came to our attention. What is the city's role in resolving neighborhood disputes? Building Inspector Qualle stated that the Deming's would come up with a plan to achieve compliance with the existing ordinance meaning no animal units which would include a timeline, should the council not choose to make changes to the ordinance. As the order is written they are not allowed to have any animals except for their dogs and cats. Council Member Jacobs suggested that this was going on for quite some time and asked city attorney Langel if this is zoning issue. Should this go back to the Planning Commission? Langel replied that this typically goes to the code enforcement unless there is a broader ordinance problem. Mr. Deming stated that in the past he was allowed to have more animals and sees it as a good learning experience for children in 41-1. It was suggested by Council to modify ordinance of owners utilizing their properties that are non - conforming prior to the adoption of the new ordinance to be have grandfather rights. It was stated that there was significant discussion and study about the ordinance on unit count and acreage size 6 years ago so devising standards in Corcoran is difficult. It was suggested that staff bring back a clearer ordinance recommendation for further consideration be brought back to the July 10, 2008 meeting. Building Inspector Qualle made suggestions for the Council when amending the ordinance to add management of manure, required reduction threshold and identifying animal description tagging all items in definition to the chart. Mayor Guenthner made a suggestion for the Deming's to do what they can to reduce the animals on there property in the meantime. Page -6- CITY OF CORCORAN CITY COtiNCIL MEETING June 12, 2008 Agenda Item 9a. Building Inspector Qualle updated Council on ongoing issues listed below: 1. Mobile Home Park — Resident is remodeling home without the correct permit. They are replacing wood and structural elements which are in violation of mobile home rules. Individual is not complying to a letter sent by Waldron and Associates with a list of things that the resident needs to do. Resident sent letter to the City with reply. 2. During the Stanchion Bar fire inspection, a fire code violation showing an illegal occupancy in the second story with no egress or stairway was noted. This fire code inspection was important because there were 30 code violations, but many of them were minor. This should have been caught in past inspection if this was a requirement at that time. City staff is trying to work with the liquor establishments and rectify these issues. The issue pertaining to the life, health and safety of the fire hazard violation is that the renter can simply be removed not allowing the place to be used as rental. The Mayor asked City Attorney Langel if we can grant and then revoke the license. Former Planning Commission member Mr. Ebert stated that the Schendle family resided in the building and that they have always used the property as a mixed use with a rental on top. He stated that if anything, this should be a grandfather use. Mayor Guenthner expressed that we cannot be "country" when there is a fire hazard. The deadline for the liquor license approval is June 30, 2008 so action must be taken immediately. 3. Dobinisky is putting a pet cremation facility on his business property and have asked the City Planner Gartner to render an opinion on whether a C.U.P. is required. Verbal discussion with Norm that it is not required. Council Member questioned if this was a residential property. It was determined that it was the Dobiniski's property on Pioneer Lane. It was never zoned as a business property. Waldron is working with the property owner on various issues. 4. A potential buyer of property in the City that is 12.75 acres. The buyer has purchased a building that has room for 26 horses. They will be boarding horses. The Building Inspector is checking on the ordinance to see if a CUP is required. Waldron will provide a report back to Council. 7c. Jacobs e-mail (Star Trib. Article) Council Member Jacobs stated that the Mayor made a false statement in the 5/7/08 Star Tribune article. The Mayor's statement, "Mr. Gartner, who is the cooperative consulting engineer" is stated to be incorrect. Mayor Guenthner responded by stating he wrote this as an opinion piece. If this is related to opinions or articles printed in the newspaper that it is the appropriate setting to resolve itself. City Planner Gartner would like a retraction in the file and to the Star and Tribune with the correct information. There was no response from Council to Planner Gartner's request for a retraction to the Star Tribune and the City file. 8. Claims as Presented 8a. Escrow Claims (Fund 500) MOTION made by Thomas, seconded by Grabowski to approve the Escrow Claims (Fund 500). Voting Aye: Thomas, Grabowski, Hudok, Jacobs, and Approval of Claims Page -7- CITY OF CORCORAN CITY COUNCIL MEETING June 12, 2008 Guenthner. (Motion carried 5:0) 8b. Building Inspection Claims MOTION made by Thomas, seconded by Grabowski to approve the Building Inspection Claims. Voting Aye: Thomas, Grabowski, Hudok, Jacobs, and Guenthner (Motions carried 5:0). 8c. All Other Claims as Presented Councilor Thomas questioned the RMS Rentals claims. This items needs clarification and the description needs to be changed. MOTION made by Thomas, seconded by Grabowski to approve all other claims as presented. Voting Aye: Thomas, Grabowski, Hudok, Jacobs, and Guenthner. (Motion carried 5:0) Agenda Item 9a. 9. CONSENT AGENDA 9b. 2008 -25 Resolution Mediation Services 9d. Police Clerk hire Process 9e. 2008 -24 Resolution Safe & Sober Grant Agreement MOTION made by Thomas, seconded by Grabowski to approve the above resolutions. Voting Aye: Thomas, Grabowski, Hudok, Jacobs, and Guenthner. (Motion carried 5:0) 9a. May 22, 2008 Draft Council Meeting Minutes. Page 5, New Business, the motion is missing. Enter the motion as "Motion Carried 5:0) Page 2, Unfinished Business, 5`h Paragraph — Change "He Thought" to "The resident thought ". Page 2, Unfinished Business, 4th Paragraph — remove "Oakdale Drive in" Page 2, Unfinished Business, Last Paragraph — misspelled "Halstad ", change to Hustad. Page 3, 8th Paragraph, 1st Sentence. Change "166" to "16 ". Page 3, 9`h Paragraph, add "s" after Jacobs. Page 5, 3'd Paragraph, misspelled "Curley ", change to "Kurley ". MOTION made by Grabowski, seconded by Jacobs to approve the May 22, 2008 Council Minutes with modifications. Voting Aye: Thomas, Grabowski, Hudok, Jacobs, and Guenthner. (Motion Carried 5:0) 9c. 2008 -26 Resolution CDGB MOTION made by Grabowski, seconded by Thomas to table 2008 -26 Resolution CDGB for further discussion. 9f. Proposal to purchase Postage meter & Table top folder Council recommends more workup with comparison to the different models to base there decision on which postage meter to lease. Consent Agenda Page -8- CITY OF CORCORAN CITY COUNCIL MEETING June 12, 2008 10. COUNCIL AND STAFF REPORTS 10a. Code Enforcement Duties — Todd Bodem Council acknowledged staff efforts in delegation of code enforcement duties. 10b. 5/20 Parks & Trails — Paul Jacobs Councilor Jacobs suggested that Council read his Parks and Trails Report; particularly issues pertaining to a lack of Institutional Memory at City Hall. It is well known that files are difficult to retrieve and demonstrating a need to review this problem. 10c. 5/22 Planning Commission / Comp. Update — Paul Jacobs Councilor Jacobs provided a report from the Infrastructure Comp Plan Open House and provided a Planning Report which summarized what the Met Council Engineer was stating about capacity issues in Corcoran. In essence, the need to spread out the density into a larger area. 10d. Budget Workshop — Todd Bodem Council agreed to call for a budget workshop meeting at 6:00 p.m. prior to the regularly scheduled meeting at 7: p.m. on July 10, 2008. Staff should prepare a Performance -to -date and budget workshop cycle for Council at that meeting. This will then formulate further budget analysis that time moving forward. 10e. Election Filing Dates This item was Council Member Jacobs brought up a concern about the filing dates of local office. City Attorney Langel states the statutes talk about two sets of dates with a two week period for each one of them for filing affidavit's for candidacy for elected offices. The July filing is for a City primary system. The resolution 2002- 02 states that a mayoral primary election was adopted January 10, 2002. The publication in the newspaper was missed due to the fact that staff did not know there was a mayoral primary election for the City of Corcoran, resulting in missing the deadline to announce the filing dates. City Attorney states that we are able to revoke the resolution. MOTION made by Jacobs, seconded by Thomas to revoke resolution 2002 -02. Voting Aye: Grabowski, Guenthner, Hudok, Jacobs, and Thomas. (Motion Carried 5:0) 11. UNSCHEDULED ITEMS MOTION made by Thomas, seconded by Hudok to approve the Hennepin County Fireworks display held on June 21, 2008. Voting Aye: Thomas, Grabowski, Hudok, Jacobs, and Guenthner. (Motion Carried 5:0). Councilor Jacobs suggested we review the City Administrator applications and provide a ranking and come back to Council at their July 10 meeting and discuss process for interviews. It was the consensus of Council taking all individual applications ranking them from top to bottom and bringing the ranking data back to the July 10, 2008 City Council meeting and then formulate an interview process. 12. ADJOURNMENT MOTION made by Hudok, seconded by Grabowski, to adjourn at 10:00 p.m. Voting Aye: Guenthner, Jacobs, Hudok, Thomas, and Grabowski (Motion carried 5:0) Agenda Item 9a. Council & Staff Reports Unscheduled Items Adjourn Page -9- CITY OF CORCORAN CITY COUNCIL MEETING June 12, 2008 ,67\ZQ-i N-MC\ANX■ Kim Bachmeier, City Clerk Treasurer Agenda Item 9a. Page -10-