HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-03-22 Council MinutesCITY OF CORCORAN
City Council Meeting Minutes
March 22, 2018 - 7:00pm
The Corcoran City Council met on March 22, 2018 at City Hall in Corcoran, Minnesota.
Present were Mayor Thomas, Councilor Keefe, Councilor Dejewski, Councilor Bottema,
and Councilor LaFave.
Also present were City Administrator Martens, Public Works Director Mattson, and
Director of Public Safety Gottschalk.
1. Call to Order I 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 a liquor license resolution to be added to Item 11 c.
MOTION: made by LaFave, seconded by Keefe to approve the agenda as amended.
Voting Aye: Thomas, Bottema, Keefe, LaFave, and Dejewski
(Motion carried 5:0)
4. Open Forum
No persons present to speak.
5. Presentations
No presentations were heard.
6. Consent Agenda
a. Draft Minutes of March 8, 2018 Council Work Session
MOTION: made by Bottema, seconded by Dejewski to approve the draft minutes for the
March 8 Council Work Session.
Voting Aye: Thomas, Bottema, Keefe, LaFave, and Dejewski
(Motion carried 5:0)
b. Draft Minutes of March 8, 2018 Council Meeting
The Council noted a mistake in a nay vote for the last council meeting to be corrected.
MOTION: made by Keefe, seconded by Dejewski to approve the draft minutes for the
March 8 Council Meeting as amended.
Voting Aye: Thomas, Bottema, Keefe, LaFave, and Dejewski
(Motion carried 5:0)
c. Resolution 2018 -23 Amending the Entity Name on Liquor License 2017 -01
MOTION: made by Bottema, seconded by Dejewski to approve the consent agenda
including 6c.
Voting Aye: Thomas, Bottema, Keefe, LaFave, and Dejewski
(Motion carried 5:0)
7. Claims as Presented
a. Escrow Claims (Fund #500)
MOTION: made by LaFave, seconded by Keefe to approve escrow claims as presented.
Voting Aye: Thomas, Bottema, Keefe, LaFave, and Dejewski
(Motion carried 5:0)
b. All Other Financial Claims
MOTION: made by Keefe, seconded by Bottema to approve all other claims as
presented.
Voting Aye: Thomas, Bottema, Keefe, LaFave, and Dejewski
(Motion carried 5:0)
8. Staff Reports/ Memos/Commissions
a. Commissioner Representatives
The Council acknowledged Parks and Trails Commission Sharon Meister and City
Administrator Martens noted that Planning Commission Jennifer Russell was unable to
attend.
b. Planning Project Update
The Council reviewed updates to the planning project.
c. Staffing Update
City Administrator Martens noted two new staff: Temporary Assistant to the City
Administrator Hope Capp and Recreation Coordinator Jessica Christensen Buck.
9. Planning Business
No planning business was presented.
10. Unfinished Business
No unfinished business was presented.
11. New Business
a. Finance Plan for Park Purchase
City Administrator Martens gave a presentation on the finance plan for the park
purchase. City Administrator Martens noted that the City Council approved a purchase
agreement for the approximate 60-acres of land owned by the Rockford School District
at the last Council meeting and that the Rockford School District also approved the
purchase agreement on March 19th. City Administrator Martens noted that the next step
is to select a finance plan for the purchase including a term of debt issuance as well as
the amount of park dedication funds to be used. Debt issuance plans of 10, 15, and 20
years were considered. City Administrator Martens recommended the 15-year debt
issuance plan due to the 10 -year plan resulting in a high debt issuance and the 20-year
plan resulting in additional administrative costs and loss of attractiveness to the buyer.
There is an existing balance of $642,269 in the park dedication fund, as well as an
additional forecasted amount of $460,000. This would result in an approximate
$1)1027269. City Administrator Martens noted that the City of Corcoran has some
upcoming park needs that the funds may be considered for, including: $175,000 for the
Ravinia neighborhood park in 2018, the Town Center Park in 2021, the Ravinia open
space park in 2020-2021, the athletic complex improvements, the Northeast Corcoran
parks, and both on/off-road corridors. City Administrator Martens showed that the more
money that is used from the park dedication fund, the less the overall annual payment
for the debt service will be. City Administrator Martens met with the Park and Trails
Commission and they recommended retaining some park dedication funds for future
park initiatives. Next steps planned are: Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessment on
April 6th, receive a bond rating on May 2nd, participate in the bond sale by May 10th, close
on the bonds by May 31st, and potentially close on the land purchase as early as June
1st. The Council asked about interest terms of the debt, cost of debt issuance, pre-
payment penalties, and if Corcoran has to consider competition for the property. The
Council then discussed how much money should be used from the park dedication fund
for this property. Council opinions ranged from not using any money from the fund and
instead saving it for developing the park and future park uses to funding it entirely with
the park dedication fund.
MOTION: made by LaFave, seconded by Dejewski to approve $250,000 from the park
dedication fund and to bond for the remaining amount to purchase the property at 20400
County Road 50.
Voting Aye: LaFave, Dejewski, and Bottema Nay: Thomas and Keefe
(Motion carried 3:2)
b. Fir Lane Turn Lane Improvement Project
Public Works Director Mattson presented plans for the Fir Lane Turn Lane to the Council
which showed creating a new intersection along Bass Lake Road. The plan would create
right, left, and through lanes in both eastbound and westbound directions at the new
street Fir Lane. Hennepin County led the design process which shifted the westbound
travel lane north and dedicated a left -turn lane at Larkin Road. Currently, there is a
bypass lane at that location. The project cost is estimated to be $450,000 and will be
funded by the developer. Prior to the award, both developers will contribute additional
cash escrow to cover all project costs. The anticipated schedule will be for the City
Council to accept plans and authorize bidding on March 22nd, begin bidding on April 17 th
and have the project be awarded by the Council contingent upon receipt of cash escrow
on April 26th. Substantial completion of the project is targeted for August 1 St. The council
asked Public Works Director Mattson if he supported the plans that Hennepin County
provided. Public Works Director Mattson responded that he did and that they were
improvement from the previous consideration from the Beacon Academy who
recommended shifting the roads to the south, which would have been more expensive
and would not have resulted in the left -turn lane. The Council expressed some safety
concerns related to traffic and recommended a 'T'-intersection or dead-ending the road.
The Council inquired about accidents from this intersection and Director of Public Safety
Gottschalk noted one fatality from early last year. Public Works Director Mattson
acknowledged these safety concerns, but noted that the goal of the project was to
provide access to new construction. City Administrator Martens also noted that in order
to consider safety improvements there would need to be outside consulting. Director of
Public Safety noted that there would likely need to be a traffic study done to consider the
collateral consequences of shutting down the road. The Council suggested revisiting
these safety issues at a future meeting.
MOTION: made by Keefe, seconded by Bottema to accept the plans and authorize to
bid the CSAH 10 and Fir Lane Improvements to serve Bass Lake Crossings (north side)
and Bass Lake Crossings South (previously Bass Lake Estates).
Voting Aye: Thomas, Keefe, Bottema, Dejewski, and LaFave
(Motion carried 5:0)
12. 2018 Council Schedule
City Administrator Martens reviewed the upcoming schedule.
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 LaFave to adjourn.
Voting Aye: Thomas, Bottema, Keefe, LaFave, and Dejewski
(Motion carried 5:0)
Meeting adjourned at 7:49 pm.
9-6--t
Brad Martens —City Administrator