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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-08-08 Council MinutesCITY OF CORCORAN City Council Meeting Minutes August 8, 2019 - 7:00 pm The Corcoran City Council met on August 8, 2019 at City Hall in Corcoran, Minnesota. Present were Mayor Thomas, Councilor Bottema, Councilor Dejewski, Councilor Keefe, and Councilor Schultz. Also present were City Administrator Martens, Administrative Services Director Beise, and Director of Public Safety Gottschalk. 1. Call to Order/ Roll Call Mayor Thomas called the meeting to order at 7:03 pm. 2. Pledge of Allegiance Mayor Thomas invited all in attendance to rise and join in the Pledge of Allegiance. 3. Agenda Approval MOTION: made by Dejewski, seconded by Keefe to approve the agenda as presented. Voting Aye: Thomas, Bottema, Dejewski, Keefe, and Schultz (Motion carried 5:0) 4. Commission Representatives Mayor Thomas noted Planning Commissioner Shoulak notified Council he would not be in attendance; Parks and Trails Commissioner Christenson was in attendance and Mayor Thomas invited him to speak on commission related items. 5. Open Forum Becky Jones, 7800 Maple Hill Road D17, addressed the Council on concerns with code enforcement on a neighboring lot. Ms. Jones asked for clarification on code enforcement actions. Council explained the process can be lengthy if the party issued the citation does not work with the City, however the City is making progress, and appreciates her expression of the issue addressed. Council and staff explained briefly the recent update of code compliance ordinances, the next steps in working with the park owner, the legal processes, and that staff will follow up with her specifically. 6. Presentations /Recognitions No presentations or recognitions were heard. 7. Consent Agenda a. Draft Minutes of July 25, 2019 Council Meeting b. Draft Minutes of July 25, 2019 Council Work Session Meeting c. Financial Claims d. Bridge Inspections — Hennepin County Agreement e. Pay Request #7 — NE Truck Sewer Improvements f. Waiver Request for Amplified Sound at 9200 County Road 116 g. Waiver Request for Amplified Sound at 10135 Ebert Road MOTION: made by Schultz, seconded by Bottema to approve consent agenda as presented. Voting Aye: Thomas, Bottema, Dejewski, Keefe, and Schultz (Motion carried 5:0) Council mentioned an appreciation for the amplified sound permits coming in early for review. Council and staff discussed redacting personal information from the amplified sound permit applications. 8. Planning Business No planning business was presented. 9. Unfinished Business a. Draft 2020 Budget City Administrator Martens indicated no further direction is needed by Council regarding the draft 2020 budget. 10. New Business a. Campaign Sign Enforcement Policy City Administrator Martens briefly outlined the current campaign sign enforcement policy, and the proposed campaign sign enforcement policy. City Administrator Martens discussed the challenges the City faced with the current policy including enforcement of signs placed where the right of way is not platted within the City and only enforcing City Council candidate signs. City Administrator Martens recapped the proposed sign enforcement policy and potential changes include establishing set distance from edge of road in sign placement; weekly sweeps during campaign periods and responding quickly to complaints on signs; removing campaign signs without notification; and applying the sign policy to any office, not just restricted to City Council campaign signs. Council discussed the proposed sign enforcement policy, specifically including or not including the address and phone number on the sign; notifying the owner of sign removal after the sign has been removed; and holding the sign for a specific amount of time after election cycle has ended. Council debated the importance of signs for information purposes but also the importance of where signs are placed, and how advertising signs are currently placed all over the City. Council further discussed the resident confusion over where the signs are placed regarding resident properties. Council discussed a 15 foot distance from the road way edge for signs, the length of time the City holds onto signs after the election, and including or maintaining site triangle regarding sign placement. Council further discussed enforcement and if weekly sweeps should occur. City Administrator Martens noted having a consistent policy is important to allow candidates to understand expectations and staff to understand enforcement. Council discussed the challenges for staff when some signs are removed and others are not. Council discussed allowing campaign signs four weeks prior to election, with no campaign signs taken down during the election cycle, and at the end of the election cycle, any remaining campaign signs would be taken down and held for specific amount of time before they are destroyed. MOTION: made by Dejewski, to not enforce campaign election signs four weeks before the election, unless there is a safety issue. Council and staff discussed when voting begins and timing of sign enforcement. (Motion failed, lack of second) MOTION: made by Keefe, seconded by Schultz to direct staff to initiate the process to approve the Campaign Sign Enforcement Policy and sign ordinance with modifications to the policy to include a 15 foot distance from road requirement, having the City hold onto campaign signs prior to destruction, including or maintaining site triangle with sign placement, and removing the name and address requirement for campaign signs. Voting Aye: Thomas, Keefe, and Schultz Voting Nay: Dejewski Abstaining: Bottema (Motion carried 3:1:0) b. Potential Urban Land Institute Meeting Councilmember Keefe presented to Council on the Urban Land Institute and what the panel can provide to the City Council regarding commercial and industrial development in Corcoran. Council deliberated on organizational biases and how that influences decisions or recommendations. The Council discussed being open to information and discussions. Council requested to see the 2 presentation prior to the evening of the presentation, allowing time for Council to review the sources of data and prepare to ask relevant questions. Per consensus, Council directed staff to schedule a meeting with the Urban Land Institute. 11. Staff Reports No staff reports were presented. 12. 2019 Council Schedule City Administrator Martens reviewed the upcoming council agenda. Council expressed gratitude and appreciation for all the work staff coordinated and put into the Night to Unite event. 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 Schultz (Motion carried 5:0) Meeting adjourned at 7:51 pm. Miche e Friedrich — Deputy Clerk I