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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-10-12 Council MinutesCITY OF CORCORAN City Council Meeting Minutes October 12, 2017 - 7:00pm The Corcoran City Council met on October 12, 2017 at City Hall in Corcoran, Minnesota. Present were Mayor Thomas, Councilor Bottema, Councilor Dejewski, Councilor Keefe, and Councilor LaFave. Also present were City Administrator Martens, City Clerk/Administrative Services Coordinator Beise, Public Works Director Mattson, City Engineer Torve, and Director of Public Safety Gottschalk. 1. Call to Order / Roll Call Mayor Thomas called the meeting to order at 7 :00 pm. 2. Pledge of Allegiance Mayor Thomas invited all in attendance to rise and join in the Pledge of Allegiance. 3. Agenda Approval City Administrator Martens noted Judy Strehler was in attendance for Parks and Trails Commissioner Robran. MOTION: made by Keefe, seconded by Dejewski to approve the agenda as presented. Voting Aye: Thomas, Bottema, Dejewski, Keefe, and LaFave (Motion carried 5:0) 4. Open Forum No persons were present for open forum. 5. Presentations No presentations were heard. 6. Consent Agenda a. Draft Minutes of September 28, 2017 Council Meeting b. Stanchion Bar's Optional 2AM License Renewal MOTION: made by Dejewski, seconded by LaFave to approve the consent agenda as presented. Voting Aye: Thomas, Bottema, Dejewski, Keefe, and LaFave (Motion carried 5:0) 7. Claims as Presented a. Escrow Claims (Fund #500) MOTION: made by Keefe, seconded by LaFave to approve escrow claims as presented. Voting Aye: Thomas, Bottema, Dejewski, Keefe, and LaFave (Motion carried 5:0) b. All Other Financial Claims MOTION: made by Bottema, seconded by Keefe to approve all other claims as presented. Voting Aye: Thomas, Bottema, Dejewski, Keefe, and LaFave (Motion carried 5:0) 8. Staff Reports / Memos /Commissions a. Commissioner Representatives Mayor Thomas noted Parks and Trails Commissioner Strehler and Planning Commissioner Wu were in attendance and invited them to speak on items related to their Commissions. Planning Commissioner Wu noted the Planning Commission had an interesting discussion on dog kennels which the Council will be reviewing at an upcoming meeting. 9. Planning Business No planning business was presented. 10. Unfinished Business a. Feasibility Study for Paving Gravel Roads Dwight Benson, 20205 Larking Road, addressed the Council regarding the paving of gravel roads. Mr. Benson addressed concerns with the assessment, traffic, taxes, and growth. Tom Anderson, 22385 Rush Creek Drive, addressed the Council on the off road trail with the proposed project. Mr. Anderson expressing support for an off road trail along the paved road. Phillip Bongaarts, 19949 Larkin Road, addressed the Council regarding the paving of Larkin Road. Mr. Bongaarts inquired about the scope of the paving project from an overlay to a pavement project and the impact of agricultural preserve on the proposed project. Gail Waldorf, 20117 Larkin Road, addressed the Council regarding the paving of Willow Drive/Larkin Road. Ms. Waldorf addressed concerns with paving, urbanization, and overlay of the paved section of Larkin Road. Rod Priebe, 10400 Trail Haven Road, address the Council regarding the paving of Trail Haven. Mr. Priebe addressed concerns with the paving, increase of development rights, and tax impacts. City Administrator Martens addressed questions that were discussed during public comment. City Administrator Martens noted that there was a proposed overlay project for the paved section of Larkin Road and there has been a proposed project to pave the entire Willow Drive/Larkin Road section for multiple years. City Administrator Martens noted that properties in agricultural preserve reduce the amount of assessable properties in a project. Mayor Thomas noted that the agricultural preserve properties will not affect the assessments of others in the project. City Administrator Martens noted per the building rights program a property on a gravel road has 1 in 30 acres of development rights where a property on pavement has 1 in 10 acres of development rights. City Administrator Martens presented the report outlining the process to date, the new traffic counts results for Willow Drive/Larkin Road, which range from 568 to 1420 trips, options to reduce the funding gap, and the timeline on next steps. Council inquired about traffic counts on Willow Drive/Larkin Road. Public Works Director Mattson reviewed the counts. Council inquired about the cost saving options with the trail. City Administrator Martens noted approximately one million dollars could be saved by eliminating the trail, approximately $800,000.00 could be saved by only acquiring the land, and approximately $250,000.00 could be saved by constructing the trail but not paving it. Council inquired about the distance between the road and the proposed trail. City Administrator Martens noted the trail would be similar to the trail along County Road 19, which is typically approximately 20 feet from the road but in sections may move closer to the road should grades or structures require it. Council discussed the paving of a trail on Trial Haven. Public Works Director Mattson noted with Trail Haven additional fill or retaining wall would be required increasing the cost of the project and trail. Council discussed the historical background from previous Councils perspective looking at Trail haven Road and Willow Drive/Larkin Road. Council inquired about the intersection of Oakdale and Trail Haven. Public Works Director Mattson noted that intersection improvements would be finalized as part of the design to meet state standards and the contingency allows for design changes. Council inquired about paving a portion of Trail Haven. Public Works Director Mattson noted it would be preferred to pave the entire road. Council inquired about what can be done to improve the safety of the curves on Willow Drive/Larkin Road regardless of paving. Public Works Director Mattson noted additional right-of-way would need to be acquired to make safety changes. Councilors provided their opinions on the projects, bonding and funding. Councilor Keefe presented a sample financing plan. Council discussed the possibility of using road restrictions to reduce commercial traffic. MOTION: made by LaFave, seconded by Bottema to amend the plans to reflect the paving of Trail Haven Road from Oakdale to County Road 10 and continue with the proposed overlay of the paved section of Larkin Road. Council discussed opinions on paving a portion of the road rather than the entire road. Voting Aye: Bottema and LaFave Nay: Thomas, Dejewski, and Keefe (Motion failed 2:3) MOTION: made by Keefe, seconded by Dejewski to direct staff to finalize the feasibility study on Willow Drive/Larkin Road with proposed bonding to not exceed $500,000.00. Councilor LaFave noted that she was interested in completing a project such as Trail Haven Road in the Buffalo School District Voting Aye: Thomas, Bottema, Dejewski, and Keefe Nay: LaFave (Motion carried 4:1) Per consensus, Council directed staff to look for additional work that can be completed by the Public Works department and look at reducing assessment costs. Council discussed the use of the trail as a horse trail. City Administrator Martens noted that the assessment policy does allow for some flexibility but does have a standard assessment formula and that the comprehensive plan does have paved trails. Council inquired about the notification process. City Administrator Martens outlined the timeline with the public hearing at the December 14th meeting. b. Discussion on Reviewing Organization Performance City Administrator Martens presented the report noting the Council was interested in strategic planning. Council discussed creating standards at the beginning of the year and performance standards and compensation for employees. City Administrator Martens noted the performance standards for employees. Council discussed reviewing at the next goal setting session. No action was taken. 11. New Business a. Financial Guidelines Update City Clerk/Administrative Services Coordinator Beise presented the report noting the proposed changes and that staff will be presenting an investment strategy in the coming months. Council inquired about the investment strategy. City Clerk/Administrative Services Coordinator Beise noted that staff would be bringing back the investment strategy in the near future for the Council to review. City Administrator Martens noted Councilor Bottema was interested in reviewing the investment strategy and invited interested Council members to contact staff. MOTION: made by Keefe, seconded by LaFave to adopt the Financial Guidelines as presented. Council inquired about the terminology for the Truth-in-Taxation Public Hearing. City Clerk/Administrative Services Coordinator Beise noted the change in terminology to a budget meeting, which provides the same function to allow persons to comment on the budget. Council inquired about the requirement for the payment if water is shut off. City Clerk/Administrative Services Coordinator Beise noted that the City bills a base fee regardless if water used a base fee. City Administrator Martens noted as the utility is a business the policy is to bill regardless of use as there were costs to implement the infrastructure. Council inquired about the water shut off policy. City Clerk/Administrative Services Coordinator Beise noted staff had not had experience with water shut off and would need to verify with the ordinance on the process. Council discussed base fees and water shut off. City Clerk/Administrative Services Coordinator Beise noted the monthly base fee is from the fee schedule. Council discussed water shut off and base fees. City Administrator Martens noted the ordinance outlining that a notice and opportunity for a hearing before the City Council for water shut off is required and that the City Clerk has the authority to work with customers to create a payment plan. Council discussed amending the motion and bringing it back for further review. City Administrator Martens noted an alternative could be to amend the first line under the utility billing guidelines to read "All residential and commercial meters will be billed a monthly water bill, as outlined in the fee schedule MOTION AMENDMENT: made by Bottema, seconded by Dejewski to amend the first line under the utility billing guidelines to read "All residential and commercial meters will be billed a monthly water bill, as outlined in the fee schedule ". Amendment Voting Aye: Thomas, Bottema, Dejewski, Keefe, and LaFave (Motion carried 5:0) Amended Motion Voting Aye: Thomas, Bottema, Dejewski, Keefe, and LaFave (Motion carried 5:0) b. Draft Local Water Supply Public Works Director Mattson presented the report noting that the plan was required as we are a water system in the metro area and the plan outlines infrastructure, emergency preparedness, and water conservation. Council inquired about who created the report and if it was a template. Public Works Director Mattson noted that he completed the work within the template and if it would have cost approximately $3,500.00. Council inquired about the contents of the report that pertain to Corcoran. Public Works Director Mattson outline water usage. Council inquired about the water loss. Public Works Director Mattson noted that there will be emergency connections and water conservation and education. Council inquired about emergency preparedness planning. Director of Public Safety Gottschalk noted it would be part of a larger emergency operation plan. Council discussed education and the watershed. City Administrator Martens noted staff is already working on many of the outlined programs. MOTION: made by Bottema, seconded by Keefe to consider a motion to approve the Local Water Supply Plan for submittal to the Department of Natural Resources. Voting Aye: Thomas, Bottema, Dejewski, Keefe, and LaFave (Motion carried 5:0) c. Social Media Policy and Implementation City Clerk /Administrative Services Coordinator Beise presented the report outlining the components the policy and proposed timeline for implementation. Council inquired about the use of personal social media by Council members. City Clerk/Administrative Services Coordinator Beise noted the policy addressed what would not be allowed on the City's page, staff is held to the employee handbook and there not specific guidelines for the Council. Council discussed open meeting law. City Clerk /Administrative Services Coordinator Beise noted she'd send out the new guidance related to social media and Council interactions. Council discussed monitoring of the pages. City Clerk/Administrative Services Coordinator Beise noted that the City approves posts before they are allowed on the page and staff has had discussions related to planning for unforeseen /crisis events. MOTION: made by LaFave, seconded by Dejewski to adopt the Social Media Policy as presented and authorize staff to implement social media as recommended. Voting Aye: Thomas, Bottema, Dejewski, Keefe, and LaFave (Motion carried 5:0) 12. 2017 Council Schedule City Administrator Martens reviewed the upcoming schedule. Council discussed the work session and the possible need for an extension of the comprehensive plan work session. 13. Council Liaison Calendar City Administrator Martens noted that the October Parks and Trails Commission Liaison was available. Public Works Director Mattson noted that the Water Supply Plan was a team effort. 14. Adjournment MOTION: made by Keefe, seconded by LaFave to adjourn. Voting Aye: Thomas, Bottema, Dejewski, Keefe, and LaFave (Motion carried 5:0) Meeting adjourned at 8:41 pm. ,J'd'ssica Beise —City Clerk/Administrative Services Coordinator