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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006-07-27 - Council Minutes - Part 2CITY OF CORCORAN CITY COUNCIL MEETING July 27, 2006 The Corcoran City Council met on July 27, 2006, at city hall in Corcoran, Minnesota. Present were Mayor Cossette, Councilor Grabowski, Councilor Jacobs, Call to Order Councilor Lymangood, and Councilor Thomas. Also present were Administrator Vergin, City Engineer Vander Top, City Planner Lindahl, Clerk Lindberg, and Roll Call Chief Gormley. Mayor Cossette called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Agenda Approval MOTION by Grabowski, seconded by Thomas, to approve the agenda with the Agenda Approval addition of 5.b. Hedgestone Letter. Voting Aye: Cossette, Grabowski, Jacobs, Lymangood, and Thomas. (Motion carried 5:0) Open Forum & Presentations Open Forum & CenterPoint Energy, Arne Hendrickson (Community Partnership Grant) Presentations Chief Gormley accepted the $3,000 donation to the Corcoran Police Department presented by Arne Hendrickson of CenterPoint Energy. The Community Partnership Grant will be used to purchase 800 MHZ radios. UNFINISHED BUSINESS Pavement Management Process Outline Council previously directed the creation of the Pavement Management Plan (PMP) subcommittee to propose long term plans for the city streets. The motion described the subcommittee should consist of two council members, three staff members, and four members of the community. Administrator Vergin explained work on the PMP, including the assessment policy and lot equivalent information, would be completed and presented to Council for appropriate action. Staff would then prepare an outline on Neighborhood Petition Process including neighborhood meeting content, lot equivalent policy, and approval thresholds. After review,- the PMP subcommittee would forward a recommendation to Council for action. The subcommittee will also identify pavement needs, determine road ranking, and address funding of improvements in a Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) for Council's consideration. Thomas affirmed there would be some latitude within the process for change. Lymangood requested a mechanism to provide more input from the public by allowing more that four residents or asking the public when financing, included bonding. rt Cossette agreed and suggested ten residents from various areas of the City be part of the committee. Grabowski agreed with increasing the subcommittee's residents to ten members. Thomas said no two people living on the same road should be considered as members. Jacobs suggested another criterion of the residents should be if they live on dead end or collector streets. Cossette would like to see a street improvement schedule, ranking, and Pavement Management Process Outline Page -1- CITY OF CORCORAN CITY COUNCIL MEETING July 27, 2006 prioritization included in the policy. Engineer Vander Top stated a time schedule would be dependent on financing availability; a ranking method would be beneficial. Thomas and Jacobs were appointed as council members on the subcommittee. Hedgestone Letter Administrator Vergin summarized the letter received by Council at tonight's meeting from Terry Forbord, Laurent Development Company, regarding the development known as Hedgestone. The letter stated the Laurent Development Company had run into some roadblocks that needed to be resolved before moving forward with the project. The City staff scheduled an August 9th meeting with Laurent representatives to define the issues with the intent to inform Council at an August meeting with details of the meeting. Administrator Vergin also asked Council to consider what direction should be taken regarding the easement acquisitions along County Road 101 if the project does go away. Thomas questioned the costs involved with acquiring the easements. Engineer Vander Top said Laurent has been responsible for all costs associated with the easements to date and assumed the discussions on August 9th would address the future costs. Grabowski asked if the City purchased the permanent easements and the Hedgestone project did not proceed, would Laurent reimburse the City for the costs of those easements. Engineer Vander Top affirmed the issue would be part of the August 9th meeting's discussions. Lymangood, after briefly reviewing the letter, noted the letter specifically states the project would not proceed without an increase in density to the project, quoting Hedgestone needs to have approximately two dwelling units per acre at a minimum to cause the financial model to make sense for everyone. Lymangood stated if the Council is not willing to increase the density by 50% (from 1.3 units to 2.0 units per acre) then the project will not proceed. The City should make sure the costs are covered and not spend any more unless the Council would be willing to increase the density. Cossette did not consider the letter a commitment. Thomas reminded the Council the letter was just received that night and did not think Laurent expected a formal reply that evening. Administrator Vergin said the intent of the August 9th meeting was to gather more information to provide to Council. Lymangood said he did not use the word commitment, but was reflecting on what was included in the letter. Lymangood reminded the Council that Laurent had a preliminary plat approval that expires at the end of the current year and if Council is not willing to increase the density, the City should stop all expenditures relating to this development. Hedgestone Letter Page -2- CITY OF CORCORAN CITY COUNCIL MEETING July 27, 2006 Administrator Vergin suggested there may be other options available and the meeting would identify and substantiate the meaning of the letter. Lymangood directed staff to provide an updated cover letter to the property owners along the County Road 101 and Gleason Road to inform them of the project status. NEW BUSINESS Financial Statements Ending June 30, 2006 Administrator Vergin presented an overview of the budget analysis ending June 30, 2006. She reported the building permit and zoning fees forecast had been reduced by $114,000 in anticipation there would be minimal work at the Hedgestone development and no construction in the United Properties development in 2006, to date actual collected revenues exceeded the forecast by 20 %, and to date expenditures are under forecast by $6,500. The projected new year end budget balance was decreased from $52,762 to $22,838. Lymangood raised a concern with the decrease in the year end budget balance and advised the Council to be cognizant of the tight budget and the spending of non- budgeted funds. Cossette asked if the police expenditures reflected the benefit pay out for the retired chief. Administrator Vergin said the pay out was reflected. Cossette wanted to be assured the planning budget was staying on course as projected; Administrator Vergin affirmed it was on course so far. Cossette asked how the dry weather affected the lawn maintenance expenses. Administrator Vergin explained the seasonal lawn mowing personnel were not needed as often, reducing the payroll expense. Allocation of Legal Fees for IMRUA Lymangood (referencing the City attorney's attendance at the July 13, 2006, council meeting) suggested meeting attendance costs by the City's contracted staff for the sole purpose of addressing HRUA issues should be allocated to the tracking of HRUA expenses to the City. He also suggested items requiring the City Attorney's presence should be placed toward the beginning of the agenda to conserve the City Attorney's time spent at the meeting and cost to the City. Cossette said he would address those issues earlier in the meetings. MOTION by Lymangood, seconded by Cossette, to allocate the legal fees associated with the July 13, 2006, council meeting to the City tracking of HRUA expenses and direct staff to adjust the agenda to save attorney fees. Voting Aye: Cossette, Grabowski, Lymangood, and Thomas. Abstained: Jacobs. (Motion carried 4:0 with 1 abstention) Lymangood noted for the record his objection to Jacob's presence at the table during the discussion of this agenda item. CONSENT AGENDA MOTION by Thomas, seconded by Grabowski to approve the consent agenda Financial Statements Ending June 30, 2006 Allocation of Legal Fees for HRUA Consent Agenda Page -3- CITY OF CORCORAN CITY COUNCIL MEETING July 27, 2006 consisting of: a. June 15, 2006 Special Meeting Minutes b. June 22, 2006 Workshop Minutes c. June 22, 2006 Regular Council Meeting Minutes d. Corcoran Jaycees Off Site Gambling License, Resolution No. 2006 -36 e. Hennepin County Fair Fireworks Display Permit f. Heinz Addition Preliminary and Final Plat, Resolution No. 2006 -37 and 2006-38 g. Bina Meadows Preliminary and Final Plat, Resolution No. 2006 -39 and 2006 -40 h. Rush Creek Meadows Final Plat and Development Contract, Resolution No. 2006 -41 i. Hodgin Topography Exemption, Resolution No. 2006 -42 j. Brachman Lot Consolidation, Resolution No. 2006 -43 Voting Aye: Cossette, Grabowski, Jacobs, Lymangood, and Thomas. (Motion Carried 5:0) CLAIMS AS PRESENTED Escrow Claims (Fund #500) $8,824.17 MOTION by Grabowski, seconded by Thomas, to approve Fund #500 Escrow claims as presented. Voting Aye: Cossette, Grabowski, Lymangood, and Thomas. Voting Nay: Jacobs. (Motion carried 4:1) Building Inspection Claims (Fund #405) $4,525.50 MOTION by Thomas, seconded by Grabowski, to approve Fund #405 Building Inspection claims as presented. Voting Aye: Cossette, Grabowski, Lymangood, and Thomas. Voting Nay: Jacobs. (Motion carried 4:1) Claims Approved All Other Claims/Disbursements as Presented $261,864.75 MOTION by Grabowski, seconded by Jacobs, to approve all other claims and disbursements as presented. Voting Aye: Cossette, Grabowski, Lymangood, Jacobs, and Thomas. (Motion carried 5:0) COUNCIL AND STAFF REPORTS Reports Parks & Trails Commission, Grabowski Parks & Trails Grabowski reported the Parks and Trails discussed the handicap access to the City park, approved Rush Creek Meadow final plat, Heinz Addition, and Bina Meadows, discussed adding park design standards to the 2007 park budget, decided to continue to use portable handicap accessible bathrooms at the City park, approved advertising signage. Cossette added the Parks and Trails commission recommended Public Works Director Meister, Engineer Vander Top, Administrator Vergin, and Mayor Cossette to find a solution to the handicap accessibility to the park field areas. Grabowski said some of the suggestions by the Parks & Trails commissioners were to purchase a golf cart or lawn tractor with a cart. Lymangood suggested the use of a golf cart or lawn tractor may have safety issues. Page -4- CITY OF CORCORAN CITY COUNCIL MEETING July 27, 2006 June Police Report, Chief Gormley Chief Gormley reported the Hennepin County Fair will be changing the activities date in 2007 to the third weekend in June with a musical band format. The Hamel Rodeo was well organized and posed no problem for the Corcoran police department. The County Road 19 project has been problematic with people moving the barricades. The tazers have been issued to the police officers and two new part- time officers will be hired. Chief Gormley asked if Council had any suggestions for the report format. Lymangood requested the newsletter include an update of the County Road 19 project schedule and a clear warning of penalties associated with the moving of barricades. Lymangood suggested Chief Gormley use bold font to communicate requests for Council action within the report. Signage at Park — Ordinance Amendment Required, Planner Lindahl Planner Lindahl suggested the Council amend the sign ordinance to allow the previously Council approved banner signage at the City park during the annual ordinance update. Thomas noted the League of MN Cities attorneys will review City sign ordinances for content upon request. Planner Lindahl will follow up with the League on this service. Lymangood asked staff to also contact the League regarding fire codes and business incentives to encourage volunteer fire fighter staffing. County Road 19 I Doboszenski Project Update, Engineer Vander Top Vander Top reported on a design change to County Road 19 relating to the Doboszenski project. The Doboszenski project design included the possibility of a future city street along the south side of the property serving their property as well as the properties to the south and east. It has been suggested a more permanent street construction be completed at this time to accommodate the future needs with constructing right turn lanes, curb and gutter, moving the trail closer to the street in order to remain within the right of way already established for the area, and a south bound turn lane. The change order details and costs are in process. Council discussed the need for bypass and acceleration lanes in this area. Vander Top will ask for design reasoning to determine why the lanes are not included in the design change. MOTION by Lymangood, seconded by Thomas, to direct Engineer Vander Top to communicate to the Hennepin County Engineer in a cooperative manner to explore all options including right in, right out, acceleration and bypass lanes, and report back to the Council the design reasoning and incremental cost that might be incurred. Voting Aye: Cossette, Grabowski, Lymangood, Jacobs, and Thomas. (Motion carried 5:0) Council expressed their gratitude to the Doboszenski's for the proactive approach of the development project. Greg Ebert — Corcoran business owner — asked for assistance to maintain the June Police Report, Chief Gormley Signage at Park — Ordinance Amendment Required, Planner Lindahl County Road 19 / Doboszenski Project Update, Engineer Vander Top Page -5- CITY OF CORCORAN CITY COUNCIL MEETING July 27, 2006 condition of the lawn area along the County Road 19 project area. Engineer Vander Top will address the issue with the Hennepin construction management. Administrator Vergin asked the council members to provide staff with inclusions or modifications to the draft newsletter on or before August 2, 2006. Adjournment MOTION by Thomas, seconded by Grabowski to adjourn the meeting at 8:19 p.m. Voting Aye: Grabowski, Jacobs, Cossette, Lymangood, and Thomas. (Motion carried 5:0) Bea Lindberg, City Clerk Adjournment Page -6-