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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC 05-08-2006 . . . ~ ~~HILLS Approved: CITY OF ARDEN HILLS, MINNESOTA REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING MAY 8, 2006; 7:00 P.M. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, Mayor Beverly Aplikowski called to order the regular City Council meeting at 7:02 p.m. Present: Mayor Beverly Aplikowski, Councilmembers David Grant (arrived at 7:07 p.m.), Brenda Holden, and Vincent Pellegrin. Absent: Councilmember Gregg Larson (excused) Also present were City Administrator, Michelle Wolfe; City Attorney, Jerry Filla; Parks and Recreation Department, Michelle Olson; Chief Finance Officer/Treasurer, Murtuza Siddiqui; Community Development Director, Karen Barton; Civil Engineer, Kris Giga; Assistant City Administrator, Schawn Johnson; City Planner, James Lehnhoff; and Recording Secretary, Kathleen Altman. 1. APPROVAL OF MEETING AGENDA Ms. Wolfe requested item 3(c) be added to the Consent Calendar. MOTION: Councilmember Holden moved and Councilmember Pellegrin seconded a motion to approve the meeting agenda as amended. The motion carried unanimously (3-0). 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. April 24, 2006 City Council Meeting B. April 17, 2006 Work Session Meeting Mayor Aplikowski requested the following changes: April 17, 2006 Work Session meeting Minutes, Page 3, third paragraph should read: Councilmember Holden proposed that the density of the project be 60,000 square feet. . . . ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL - MAY 8, 2006 2 MOTION: Councilmember Holden moved and Councilmember Pellegrin seconded a motion to approve the April 24, 2006 City Council Meeting Minutes as presented and the April 17, 2006 Council Work Session Minutes as amended. The motion carried unanimously (3-0). 3. CONSENT CALENDAR a. Claims and Payroll b. Motion to Approve the Purchase of a Generator for Lake Johanna Fire Department Engine Number 1 c. Resignation of Tom Moore MOTION: Councilmember Holden moved and Councilmember Pellegrin seconded a motion to approve the Consent Calendar and to authorize execution of all necessary documents contained therein. The motion carried unanimously (3-0). 4. PULLED CONSENT ITEMS None. 5. PUBLIC INOUlRIES/INFORMATIONAL A. Celebratinl! Arden Hills Update Ms. Olson updated Council on the progress of the annual summer event scheduled for June 24, 2006 at Tony Schmidt Park. Councilmember Grant arrived at 7:07 p.m. Mayor Aplikowski stated she had a check for $150.00 from the Big Ten Supper Club for this event. She noted they would also like a poster. 6. PUBLIC HEARINGS None. 7. NEW BUSINESS A. Update on tbe North Suburban Cable Commission and North Suburban Access Corooration Ms. Coralie Wilson, Director North Suburban Cable Commission, updated Council on the North Suburban Cable Commission and North Suburban Access Corporation. . . . ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL - MAY 8, 2006 3 B. Motion to Accept the Warminl! House Inventorv and Recommended Improvement Report Ms. Olson updated the Council on the warming houses and ice rink operations at Freeway Park, Hazelnut Park, and Valentine Park. She recommended removing the warming house at Valentine Park and maintaining the rink without staffing into the future for the following reasons: 1. Attendance was always slow at this site and continues to decline. 2. The building continued to flood every spring, causing maintenance issues. 3. The amount of salary the City saved by closing the warming house at Valentine Park could be used to supplement the rental of mobile units at Hazelnut Park and Freeway Park. She also recommended the mobile units be utilized at Freeway Park and Hazelnut Park for the following reasons: 1. The buildings were in need of major repairs. 2. The buildings were only utilized three months out of the year. 3. The buildings were not aesthetically pleasing. She indicated at minimum staff recommended major repairs be done on the Freeway Park and Hazelnut Park buildings before the next season. Councilmember Pellegrin asked if the costs for the mobile units had been determined. Ms. Olson responded there would be a one-time fee for the electrical relocation along with a $1,139.10 rental per season per mobile unit. Councilmember Grant asked what maintenance had been done on the buildings in the past five years. Ms. Olson indicated she staffed the buildings and the Director of Operations and Maintenance was in charge of maintenance of the buildings. She stated that Department would go out and determine what needed to be done every season, but as far as she was aware, the buildings did not get looked at throughout the season because they were used as storage. Councilmember Holden asked if they made repairs to the existing buildings, how long would those repairs last. She stated she was not sure one situation fit all and she would be in favor of a small portable unit at Valentines Park because of the flooding, but she was not sure portable units should be at the other parks. She noted according to the Building Official none of the buildings had structural issues or structural damage. Mayor Aplikowski stated it appeared Council wanted this brought back to Council at a future work session for discussion. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL - MAY 8, 2006 4 . MOTION: Councilmember Grant moved and Councilmember Holden seconded a motion to discuss the warming house buildings at a future work session. The motion carried unanimously (4-0). Ms. Wolfe requested if the Councilmembers had any further questions, suggestions, or comments regarding the warming houses or maintenance issues, to inform her so staff would have those answers at the work session. C. Motion to Approve the Revised URS Contract Ms. Giga stated the City had a contract with URS for engineering services since January 1998. Since the original contract had been in place, changes had taken place at the City. The City had entered into a Joint Powers Agreement for engineering services with the City of Roseville. The agreement with Roseville included some tasks previously performed by URS; therefore, the URS contract needed to be revised accordingly. She indicated the most notable revision to the contract with URS would be the removal of the monthly retainer fee. Tasks identified in this section of the contract were now tasks that are incorporated into the agreement with Roseville, such as attending Council meetings and work sessions, providing day to day support to other City staff members, Councilmembers, and the general public, and answering resident questions and concerns. Tasks previously identified with the monthly retainer would be added to miscellaneous services that were available as . needed/requested by the City. She recommended approving the revised contract with URS for engmeenng servIces and authorizing staff to prepare and execute the associated documents. Councilmember Grant stated he was glad they were addressing the monthly retainer issue. Ms. Holden asked how the City was doing with their budget with the City of Roseville. Ms. Wolfe responded she believed they should be either within or below budget. She noted the first statement from the City of Roseville should be received soon. MOTION: Councilmember Holden moved and Councilmember Grant seconded a motion to approve the revised contract with URS for engineering services and authorize staff to complete and execute the associated documents. The motion carried unanimously (4-0). D. Motion to Approve the Indvkiewicz Propertv Loan Repavment Proposal Mr. Siddiqui stated in the late 1990's the City purchased the Indykiewicz property to develop the Round Lake area. This was part ofTIF District #2. The district borrowed $650,000 from the PIR Fund (inter-fund loan) in anticipation of paying back the principal in the future with accrued interest. As of last summer, the loan balance, including interest, amounted to $880,835. In the summer of 2005, the City sold a portion of this property to Holiday Gas Stationstores. The . ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL - MAY 8, 2006 5 . property sale yielded the City a profit of $796,300. The difference between the outstanding loan balance and the proceeds from sale of the land was $84,535. He indicated the remaining loan balance in TIF District #2 was $84,535. The fund had approximately $300,000 in net working capital (fund balance). Therefore, the City could payoff the remaining outstanding balance from this fund. This would be an eligible expense that could be charged to TIF District #2. The City Council could also consider forgiving the loan balance and keep the funds in reserves for future use. Any unspent funds at the expiration of a TIF district are distributed to Ramsey County, Mounds View School District, and the City of Arden Hills general fund. He stated that currently the TIF district was generating adequate tax revenue to meet the debt service requirements for the outstanding bonds the City had issued for the improvement of this district. Last year, the district generated approximately $100,000 more in revenue than the debt service requirements. City staff is not sure if an excess of this magnitude would continue in the future due to future law changes or the possibility of the property going into forfeiture. Although staff does believe that the current fund has adequate reserves to absorb any unanticipated reduction in tax revenue collected and was recommending the City Council consider paying off the remaining balance to the PIR Fund. He recommended the Council authorize staff to pay off the remaining loan balance in the amount of$84,535 to the PIR Fund from TIF District #2 Fund as of the close of the 2005 year end. . Councilmember Grant stated he believed this was a good idea to pay off the TIF loan balance. He asked if City trails could be constructed with the TIF funds. Mr. Siddiqui responded he was not sure ifTIF funds could be used for this purpose, but he would look into this. MOTION: Councilmember Holden moved and Councilmember Grant seconded a motion to authorize staff to payoff the remaining loan balance in the amount of$84,535 to the PIR Fund from the TIF District #2 as of the close of year end 2005. The motion carried unanimously (4-0). E. Motion to Approve Additional Lel!al Services for the City Hall Arbitration Case Ms. Wolfe stated the City would be entering into an arbitration hearing on June 19,2006. This arbitration concerns the still-open contract for the construction of the Arden Hills City Hall. During the summer of 2003, the City participated in a mediation process with the General Contractor, Rochon, in order to try and settle the dispute. The mediation process was not successful, so the determination was made to proceed to arbitration. The arbitration had been scheduled and rescheduled several times. However, the arbitrator had indicated he will allow no further delays and the hearing would commence on June 19. . She indicated until recently, City Attorney Jerry Filla had been exclusively representing the City in this matter. As the problems with the building had continued and more testing had been conducted, the case had continued to grow in complexity. She stated it would significantly . . . ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL - MAY 8, 2006 6 enhance the City's case if they added the representation of an attorney who specialized in construction law. She indicated they had received references from the arbitrator, metro building officials, and expert witnesses. She was recommending attorney Jeffrey W. Coleman be retained to assist Mr. Filla with this matter. She noted the services were more expensive than what they typically pay for legal representation. However, she believed this was a case where Mr. Coleman's specialized expertise would greatly increase the chances for a successful arbitration. In addition, staff would work with Mr. Filla to keep legal expenses as low as possible and reasonable, looking for alternatives for accomplishing tasks wherever possible. She stated they would also make every attempt to recoup any expenses possible via the arbitration process. She recommended Council authorize retaining Jeffrey W. Coleman for legal services related to the City Hall arbitration case, at a rate of $250 per hour, not to exceed $50,000. She stated Mr. Coleman was present at this meeting to answer any questions. Jeffrey W. Coleman introduced himself and summarized his qualifications for the Council. He stated he appreciated the opportunity to assist Arden Hills in this arbitration. MOTION: Councilmember Grant moved and Councilmember Pellegrin seconded a motion to approve Jeffrey W. Coleman for legal services related to the City Hall Arbitration Case in an amount not to exceed $50,000. The motion carried unanimously (4-0). F. Motion to Auurove a Variance Extension for Planninl! Case 03-19: Carolvn and Carl Mohn Mr. Lehnhoff stated Carolyn Mohn, applicant, had requested the Council consider an additional six month extension to a variance that was approved on August 25,2003. He stated on August 25, 2003, the City Council approved a variance to allow a 9-foot encroachment on the shoreline setback at 3459 Siems Court. The approval was subject to two conditions. The first condition required the applicant to obtain all necessary building permits from the Building Official prior to the issuance of a building permit. The second condition required approval from the Millllesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR). The DNR did review the application and did not have any objections to the proposed plan. He indicated typically, a variance expired one year from the date of approval if the applicant did not file for a building permit within that period of time. Due to health related issues, Ms. Mohn requested a one year extension for the variance in August 2004. The City Council approved a one-year extension to the variance on September 13, 2004, which expired in September, 2005. . . . ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL - MAY 8, 2006 7 He stated a second extension was granted for six months in September 2005 due to ongoing health issues, which expired in March 2006. Now that spring had arrived, Ms. Mohn was ready to move fOlWard with her addition; however, the variance technically expired in March and building permits cannot be issued without an after-the-fact extension from the City Council. He recommended approval of the requested six month extension. He stated extending the variance approval was unlikely to have any negative impact on the neighborhood or City. The circumstances under which the variance was approved in 2003 had not changed; therefore, the 2003 site plan for this property would still be eligible for approval under the current Zoning Ordinance regulations. Ms. Mohn had also indicated that final building plans were forthcoming. Ms. Mohn, 2459 Siems Court, stated she would be grateful to have this extension. She indicated they have had many, many health problems, which have now been resolved and they intended now to follow through with this request. MOTION: Councilmember Grant moved and Councilmember Holden seconded a motion to approve an additional extension to August 25, 2006 for the variance that was approved in Planning Case 03-19 for Carolyn Mohn at 3459 Siems Court subject to the conditions of the original approval. The motion carried unanimously (4-0). 8. UNFINISHED BUSINESS A. TCAAP Update Ms. Barton updated the Council on recent TCAAP developments. 9. COUNCIL REQUESTS None. MOTION: Councilmember Grant moved and Councilmember Holden seconded a motion to adjourn to a closed session to discuss the Rochon Corporation Arbitration Case pursuant to MS l3D.05 Subd 3.b; TCAAP land sale negotiations pursuant to MS 13D.05 Subd. 3.c3; and City Attorney review of Klumpp Court Case decision pursuant to MS 13D.05 Subd 3.b. The motion carried unanimously (4-0). Mayor Aplikowski adjo~ed the Regular City Council Meeting meeting at 8:21 p.m. ~~. "-~.~ Beverly phk ski MIchelle Wolfe Mayor City Administrator