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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-12-14 Council MinutesCITY OF CORCORAN City Council Meeting Minutes December 14, 2017 - 7:00pm The Corcoran City Council met on December 14, 2017 at City Hall in Corcoran, Minnesota. Present were Mayor Thomas, Councilor Bottema, Council 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 the addition of Item 11e. 2018 Vision Setting Session, discussion of the date. MOTION: made by LaFave, seconded by Keefe to approve the agenda as amended. Voting Aye: Thomas, Bottema, Dejewski, Keefe, and LaFave (Motion carried 5:0) 4. Open Forum No persons were present to speak. 5. Public Hearings a. Improvement Hearing —Willow Drive and Lark Road Improvement Project City Administrator Martens presented the report outlining the timeline of the project to date, the proposed costs and proposed assessments, and the next steps in the project. Mayor Thomas opened the public hearing. Mary Soligny, 21201 Larkin Road, addressed the Council on the project. Ms. Soligny provided an overview of her business, safety concerns with crossing a paved road, and concerns with the trail. Jim Zajicek, 20701 Larkin Road, addressed the Council on the project. Mr. Zajicek addressed concerns assessments for the paved section, uniformity of value for properties on the paved section and gravel sections, reconstruction in the future for utilities, and the justification of assessments for roads accessing the project. Dennis Covington, 7131 Old Settlers Road, addressed the Council on the project. Mr. Covington addressed concerns with being assessed when he does not live on the road being paved and he does not utilize Willow Drive /Larkin Road. Mr. Covington expressed concerns with the maintenance of the paved section of Larkin Roads, the assessments, maintenance costs and the speed of a paved road. Jeffery Dickman, 7203 Old Settlers Road, addressed the Council on the project. Mr. Dickman concerns with safety, assessments, hostile taxation, budget, and fiscal concerns. Rick Middlemist, 20845 Larkin Road, addressed the Council on the project. Mr. Middlemist addressed concerns with development, increased taxes, and utilities not being included in the project. Dwight Benson, 20205 Larkin Road, addressed the Council on the project. Mr. Benson addressed concerns with the trail, animal droppings on the trail, the removal of trees and the location of the trail. Paul Bolstad, 21125 Larkin Road, addressed the Council on the project. Mr. Bolstad addressed concerns with safety on a paved road and the value of the project. Phil Bongaarts, 19949 Larkin Road, addressed the Council on the project. Mr. Bongaarts inquired about how the feasibility studies were completed, how many road projects have been considered, how Willow Drive/Larkin Road and Trail Haven Road were selected from five MSA options. Mr. Bongaarts expressed concerns with the feasibility reports being an estimate of the cost and the information presented related to the length of gravel in the original proposals for Willow Drive/Larkin Road and Trail Haven Road. Mr. Bongaarts noted concerns with maintenance, the proposed increased value, and the impact of the project on the Council. Ken Kluck, 21800 County Road 50, addressed the Council. Mr. Kluck addressed additional citizen involvement at Council meetings. Mr. Kluck addressed concerns with lack of public support for the project and the speed and safety impacts of pavement. Sara Harvey, 8850 Trail Haven Road, addressed the Council on this project. Ms. Harvey addressed concerns with paving gravel roads when citizens do not want it, lack of development, and maintenance costs. Ms. Harvey noted concerns with increased speeds, assessments for gravel collector roads, and the value of the proposed assessment. Todd Billadeau, 7275 Larkin Road, Grounds Care Inc, addressed the Council on the project. Mr. Billadeau noted concerns with the road becoming a freeway and assessments for those on the paved section of road. Dan Robin, 20630 Larkin Road, addressed the Council on the project. Mr. Robin addressed concerns with how close the road would be to his home and the increased speed. Owen Schilling, 21627 Nystrom Lane, addressed the Council on the project. Mr. Schilling noted opposition to the project and noted the growth rate over forty years has been ten home, which does not warrant pavement. Dorothy Theis, 9530 Cain Road, addressed the Council on the project. Ms. Theis noted that a free overlay was due to residents on the paved portion. Ms. Theis noted concerns with the trail, the bonding rate, maintenance costs for gravel roads, and studies completed. Dan Dixon, 20129 Larkin Road, addressed the Council on the project. Mr. Dixon addressed concerns with safety, speed limits, MSA standards, no ability to restrict commercial vehicles, farm construction, the disrepair of the current paved section, and planning for roads for the future. Doris Zajicek, 20701 Larkin Road, addressed the Council on the project. Ms. Zajicek addressed concerns that people moved to Corcoran to live in the country and concerns with the project Kevin Kennedy, 7215 Buckskin Trail addressed the Council on the project. Mr. Kenndey addressed concerns with an assessment for when he does not live on the road being paved, safety, traffic, and the property values. John Dahl, 6330 Willow Drive, addressed the Council on the project. Mr. Dahl addressed concerns with safety, vehicle counts on Willow Drive and Larkin Road, and the agricultural vehicles utilizing a paved road. Mr. Dahl noted the opposition forms he collected noted 70% of people do not want the road paved. A copy of the opposition forms was received, but not reviewed at the meeting. Mike Kariniemi, 6855 Willow Drive, addressed the Council on the project. Mr. Kariniemi spoke in favor of the project; noting dust issues with gravel, the safety of tar roads, and that undeveloped areas have a tar roads. Gail Waldorf, 20117 Larkin Road, addressed the Council on the project. Ms. Waldorf expressed concerns with safety, property values, inconsistently with the comments from the Comprehensive Plan surveys, and Council agendas. Matt Faue, 6315 Willow Drive, addressed the Council on the project. Mr. Faue addressed concerns with completing the project for the development of Medina, keeping the community rural, and the trail. City Administrator Martens read three email from those who could not attend. Libbi Rice, 6715 Willow Drive, wrote in favor of the project. Ms. Rice noted a paved road would provide a better life styles for running and biking and concerns with dust. Joe Maas, 6715 Willow Drive, wrote in favor of the project. Mr. Maas noted a paved road would improve safety, quality of life, and update the community. Landon Phol, 20207 Abilene Lane, wrote in opposition of the project. Mr. Phol noted concerns with increased traffic, increased speed and doesn't align with rural feel. Mayor Thomas called for anyone else to speak. Cristobal Cuadros, 6655 Willow Drive, address the Council on the project. Mr. Cuadros addressed concerns with the Country feel and the assessment amount. Greg Hoglund, 19222 Hackamore Road, addressed the Council on the project. Mr. Hoglund addressed concerns of not waiting for developers to pave the road, moving too fast, and utilizing park dedication funds. Rick Middlemist, 20845 Larkin Road, addressed the Council on the project. Mr. Middlemist addressed the Council on representation of the people. Rich Graunke, 19910 Larkin Road, MidState Crane, addressed the Council on the project. Mr. Graunke address concerns with the assessment of those on the paved portion, planning for utilities, and cut through traffic. Chad Markus 21801 Horseshoe Trail, address the Council on the project. Mr. Markus addressed concerns with being assessed and not living on Willow Drive and Larkin Road. Mayor Thomas called for anyone else to speak. MOTION: made by Dejewski, seconded by Bottema to close the public hearing. Voting Aye: Thomas, Bottema, Dejewski, Keefe, and LaFave (Motion carried 5:0) City Administrator Martens answered questions that were raised during the public hearing. City Administrator Martens noted he reviewed the properties, interpreted the assessment policy, and that any appeal would take place at the assessment hearing should the project move forward. City Administrator Martens noted the letter of benefit noted a benefit for those properties within 1000 feet to the road improvement. City Administrator Martens noted the trail was not anticipated to be a horse trail and droppings would not be cleaned as it is not cleaned off the roads currently. City Administrator Martens noted traffic counts were significant on Willow Drive/Larkin Road and Trail Haven Road and which contributed to the selection of those out of the five MSA eligible roads. Public Works Director Mattson noted sewer would follow topography and likely not follow the collector road. City Engineer Torve noted he has made notes of the sight line issue at Kalk Road, and took design notes on the location for septic systems along the road. City Engineer Torve noted the road would be designed at a ten ton standard. Mayor Thomas noted the downtown project was for utilities and the City would have had to return TIF funds had they not be allocated to a project such as this. Mayor Thomas noted that the Comprehensive Plan has included paving of gravel roads. Director of Public Safety noted that the speed limits are set by the state based on the engineering and the speed traveled. Public Works Director Mattson noted that there is a minimum designed speed and the speed limit. Public Works Director Mattson noted the posted speed may be different than designed the speed. Public Works Director Mattson noted the City has some local control in the design. Council discussed the access of properties who have access to a different road than Willow Drive/Larkin Road and assessing the overlay of the road. Council discussed the MSA amendment process. Public Works Director Mattson noted the City would have to go through a variance process for decreasing the lane width. Council discussed narrower lanes for slower speed limits. Council inquired about the difference in assessment for those on the gravel section versus those on the paved section. City Administrator Martens noted that those who were on the existing paved section was $6,300. Council inquired about speed enforcement. Director of Public Safety Gottschalk noted speed is monitored by patrols and use of speed signs and typically and the department would increase patrols up if speeding concerns are happening again. Council inquired about the speed data from utilizing the speed signs. Director of Public Safety Gottschalk noted the majority of vehicles are within three to five miles per hour of the existing speed limit with some outliers. Council inquired about the overlay policy. City Administrator Martens noted that existing roads would receive one overlay to the same standard as outlined in the assessment policy. City Administrator Martens noted if the project would not go forward the 2018 budget includes an overlay and should the project go forward the budgeted overlay funds would be allocated to the project. Council discussed concerns with safety, trails connections for the future, ability to ride horses on the trails, and accepting a petition without time to review it. Council discussed ethics. Council discussed traffic from other communities, motivations of the Council, traffic counts. Council discussed studies indicate a need for pavement with more than 200-400 trips per day and road being converted back have been smaller townships with limited trips per day. Council discussed the MSA variance process and road design. Council discussed safety concerns and the speed limit discretion. Council discussed rationale for voting on the project. Council discussed commercial traffic, safety on the road, and the assessment policy. MOTION: made by Keefe to authorize staff to begin plans and specifications and the process for right-of-way acquisition. (Motion failed, no second) MOTION: made by LaFave, seconded by Dejewski to abandon the project. Voting Aye: Bottema, Dejewski, and LaFave Nay: Thomas and Keefe (Motion carried 3:2) Mayor Thomas noted he would direct staff not to bring forward a paving project for the remainder of his term. b. 2018 Proposed Budget and Property Tax Levy City Administrator Martens presented the report outlining the process and the proposed changes from the preliminary levy. Mayor Thomas opened the public hearing. Ken Kluck, 21800 County Road 50, addressed the Council. Mr. Kluck noted his valuation went up and he has to looks at his neighbors junk. Mr. Kluck noted concerns with the police dog, the Hennepin County shared study of County roads, and the sounds system. Tom Anderson, 22385 Rush Creek Drive, addressed the Council. Mr. Anderson noted the taxes are bargain for the services provided and the City is doing a marvelous job. MOTION: made by Keefe, seconded by Dejewski to close the public hearing. Voting Aye: Thomas, Bottema, Dejewski, Keefe, and LaFave (Motion carried 5:0) Council discussed valuation and code enforcement. City Administrator Martens noted the code enforcement process mentioned by Mr. Kluck is current working through the court process and the budget includes additional funding for code enforcement staffing. Council discussed code enforcement. Mr. Kluck asked that the Council consider a public hearing for businesses seeking a conditional home occupation license. Council noted that canines are shared with other communities. Director of Public Safety Gottschalk noted Hennepin County has reduced their canine program and the canine will provide assistance with drug stops and tracking. Council inquired about which roads are seeing the drug stops. Director of Public Safety Gottschalk noted the there are not specific routes. 6. Consent Agenda a. Draft Minutes of August 10, 2017 Work Session b. Draft Minutes of September 21, 2017 Work Session c. Draft Minutes of the October 26, 2017 Work Session d. Draft Minutes of October 26, 2017 Council Meeting e. Elm Creek Watershed Commission Alternate MOTION: made by Keefe, seconded by Dejewski to approve the consent agenda as presented. Voting Aye: Thomas, Bottema, Dejewski, Keefe, and LaFave (Motion carried 5:0) Council thanked Tom Anderson for his service as an alternate for the Elm Creek Watershed Commission. 7. Claims as Presented a. Escrow Claims (Fund #500) MOTION: made by Dejewski, seconded by Bottema 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 Dejewski, seconded by Bottema 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 Planning Commissioner Theis and Parks and Trails Commissioner Anderson were in attendance and invited them to speak on items related to their commissions. b. Sub-watershed Assessment Meeting Recap Council discussed the meeting noting it was well attended. Planning Commissioner Theis noted her anticipation of an overview of the watershed and inquired about the cost of the watershed. City Administrator Martens noted the assessment of water quality and the City pays the watershed on a taxable value basis. c. Hennepin County Crime Lab Update Director of Public Safety Gottschalk provided a verbal update of the Crime Lab. Director of Public Safety Gottschalk noted the budget amendment had been withdrawn and the Hennepin County Chief's Association was concerned with the impacts to service and being part of the process. Director of Public Safety Gottschalk noted the oversight of the lab may be changed and the process over the next year will be to engage stakeholders. Council discussed the County vote. 9. Planning Business No planning business was presented. 10. Unfinished Business a. Emergency Communications System Fee Director of Public Safety Gottschalk presented the report noting the funding mechanism for warning sirens as development necessitates the need for new systems. Council discussed the clarification on units. Director of Public Safety Gottschalk noted that multi-unit properties does not result in the sprawl as single family development typical does. MOTION: made by LaFave, seconded by Bottema to adopt Ordinance 2017-360 Establishing an Emergency Communications Systems Fee. Voting Aye: Thomas, Bottema, Dejewski, Keefe, and LaFave (Motion carried 5:0) MOTION: made by Keefe, seconded by LaFave to adopt Ordinance 2017-361 Summary Ordinance of Ordinance 2017-361. Voting Aye: Thomas, Bottema, Dejewski, Keefe, and LaFave (Motion carried 5:0) 11. New Business a. 2018 Fee Schedule City Administrator Martens presented the report noting the changes in fees. MOTION: made by Keefe, seconded by LaFave to adopt Ordinance 2017-362 Adopting the 2018 Fee Schedule. Voting Aye: Thomas, Bottema, Dejewski, Keefe, and LaFave (Motion carried 5:0) b. 2018 Full-time, Part-time and Seasonal Wage Schedule City Administrator Martens presented the report outlining the changes to the wage schedule. MOTION: made by LaFave to adopt Resolution 2017-97 Approving 2018 Wage Schedule for City Employees. Mayor Thomas noted the resolution number was 2017-77. Motion withdrawn. MOTION: made by LaFave, seconded by Keefe to adopt Resolution 2017-77 Approving 2018 Wage Schedule for City Employees. Voting Aye: Thomas, Bottema, Dejewski, Keefe, and LaFave (Motion carried 5:0) c. 2018 General Fund Budget and Property Tax Levy City Administrator Martens presented the report outlining the budget overtime and noting staffing considerations would be approved individually throughout the year. Council noted the budget has been reviewed several times and discussed the canine program. MOTION: made by Dejewski, seconded by Bottema to adopt Resolution 2017-78 Adopting 2018 Budget and Final 2017 Tax Levy, Collectable in 2018. Voting Aye: Thomas, Bottema, Dejewski, Keefe, and LaFave (Motion carried 5:0) d. 2018 Water and Sanitary Sewer Budgets City Administrator Martens presented the report noting the budget reflects a deficit according to the Financial Management Plan until enough homes and businesses are on the system. Council discussed the winter usage change. City Administrator Martens noted based on data the new system is more equitable than charging a flat rate. Council discussed winter usage including ice rinks. City Administrator Martens noted winter usage is based on winter water usage which is typically less than summer usage with sprinkler systems and noted staff does have some ability to make adjustments on a case by case basis. MOTION: made by Keefe, seconded by Bottema to adopt Resolution 2017-79 Adopting Final 2018 Water and the Sanitary Sewer Budget. Voting Aye: Thomas, Bottema, Dejewski, Keefe, and LaFave (Motion carried 5:0) e. 2018 Vision Setting Session City Administrator Martens presented the report noting January 27th from 12:00pm until 6:00pm was the date that worked for all members. Council discussed the importance of the meeting and the vision setting meeting. Parks and Trails Chair Anderson noted that the Parks and Trails Commission would like to better understand the Council vision. Council discussed gathering input and scheduling time with the Parks and Trails Commission to discuss vision. MOTION: made by Keefe, seconded by Bottema to schedule a meeting on January 27th from 12:00prn to 6:00pm for the purpose of setting goals. Voting Aye: Thomas, Bottema, Dejewski, Keefe, and LaFave (Motion carried 5:0) 12.2017 Council Schedule City Administrator Martens reviewed the upcoming schedule. City Administrator Martens noted Councilmember Dejewski is not able to attend the December 28th and requested to move the canine and detective position discussions to the first meeting in January. Per consensus, the topic was moved to January. 13. Council Liaison Calendar The council liaison calendar was not reviewed, but was available in the Council packet. 14. Adjournment MOTION: made by Keefe, seconded by Bottema to adjourn. Voting Aye: Thomas, Bottema, Dejewski, Keefe, and LaFave (Motion carried 5:0) Meeting adjourned at 10:20pm. 1 4vZ4 ssica Beise —City Clerk/Administrative Services Coordinator