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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC 02-24-1997 . . . MINUTES CITY OF ARDEN HILLS, MINNESOTA REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING FEBRUARY 24,1997 7:30 P.M. - NEW BRIGHTON COUNCIL CHAMBERS CALL TO ORDERlROLL CALL Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, Mayor Dennis Probst called to order the regular City Council meeting at 7:30 p.m. Present: Mayor Dennis Probst, Councilmembers Beverly Aplikowski, Dale Hicks, Susan Keirn, and Paul Malone. Absent: None. Also present were: City Administrator, Brian Fritsinger; City Accountant, Terry Post; Community Development Director, Kevin Ringwald; Public Works Superintendent, Dwayne Stafford; and Recording Secretary, Cindy Schneider. ADOPT AGENDA MOTION: Aplikowski moved and Keirn seconded a motion to adopt the agenda for the February 24, 1997, Regular City Council meeting as presented. The motion carried unanimously (5-0). APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. February 10, 1997, Regular Council Meeting Council member Malone requested the following changes: Page 8, paragraph 4: ".. .new entrance crosses land in Arden Manor that is now a park easement.." ".. .appointment to AMM Representative to the Metropolitan Council's Transportation Advisory Board." Page 15, paragraph 3: Councilmember Aplikowski requested the following change: Page 10, paragraph 2: "... stated she would like Council to look at setback variances..." Mayor Probst requested the following changes: . . . ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL - FEBRUARY 24. 1997 2 Page 8, paragraph 8: Page 9, paragraph I: ". . . Arden Hills could create a larger development parcel. . ." ". . . based on the minimum level of connection to Round Lake Road." Page 10, paragraph 3: Strike this paragraph. MOTION: Hicks moved and Aplikowski seconded a motion to approve the February 10, 1997, Regular Council Meeting minutes as corrected. The motion carried unanimously (5-0). CONSENT CALENDAR A. B. C. Claims and Payroll Refuse Hauler and Business License Renewals Park & Recreation Commission Appointment - James D. Johnson MOTION: Malone moved and Aplikowski seconded a motion to approve the Consent Calendar as submitted and authorize execution of all necessary documents contained therein. The motion carried unanimously (5-0). Mayor Probst inquired if it was known how many City residents each refuse hauler serviced. He suggested adding a question to the license application to acquire this information. Councilmember Malone stated that many of the licenses being applied for are for industrial refuse hauling, but agreed with the need for a hauler survey. PUBLIC COMMENTS Mayor Probst invited the audience to address the Council on any issue not already on the agenda. Lois Rem, 1670 Glenview Court, came forward to address the Council. She reported that the "Neighbors of Lake Valentine" have built a World Wide Web site for exchange of Arden Hills information. She stated the City Council and Planning Commission minutes have been posted on this site for about a year, along with other documents relating to this project. She stated the notebooks in the library with the City of Arden Hills minutes have this web site address in the front. Councilmember Keirn requested clarification that the Neighbors of Lake Valentine web site information was in the front of all the notebooks. Ms. Rem stated that was correct, that she began inserting this information into the notebooks for information purposes. . . . ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL - FEBRUARY 24,1997 3 Councilmember Keirn inquired ifthere was any way that this web site could be construed as an official City of Arden Hills web site. Ms. Rem stated that would not be possible. Councilmember Malone noted that if a web search is done using the words "Arden Hills", this web site comes up as a match. He suggested the search engine be changed so that does not happen in the future. Ms. Rem indicated she would suggest that this change be made. There were no further public comments. UNFINISHED AND NEW BUSINESS A. Resolution #97-10, Determining Assessed Cost ofImprovement and Ordering Proposed Assessment Roll, 1997 Street Improvements B. Resolution #97-11, Ordering Assessment Hearing, 1997 Street Improvements Mr. Greg Stonehouse, Project Manager for MSA Consulting Engineers, reviewed that Council is asked to adopt Resolution #97 -10, determining assessed cost of improvement and ordering proposed assessment roll, 1997 Street Improvements. Council is also asked to adopt Resolution #97-11, ordering assessment hearing, 1997 Street Improvements. The Hearing is scheduled for March 31, 1997. Hearing notices will be sent to all affected property owners, and published in the Bulletin. The City received six bids on February 19, 1997, for the project, with Valley Paving being the apparent low bidder with a bid of $595,960. Mr. Stonehouse stated the City has had a positive relationship with this company, including the street maintenance improvements of 1995. He stated the bid was higher than estimated in the feasibility study due to three factors: I. The addition of three bike trail seal coats ($2,707.75); 2. The inclusion of a slurry seal alternate ($16,011.90); 3. Complete reconstruction of Colleen Circle instead of bituminous reclamation ($17,000). Mr. Stonehouse stated if it is determined the overall costs for this project are too high, portions of the bid are allowed to be deleted at Council's discretion. The City Council will receive the draft assessment roll prior to the hearing date for the purpose of review and discussion. Staff is working with the engineer on the assessment rates, which will be recommended for the 1997 Street Improvement Project. Mayor Probst requested clarification that Mr. Stonehouse recommends using Valley Paving for this project. Mr. Stonehouse agreed he is comfortable using this company for this project. . . . ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL - FEBRUARY 24, 1997 4 Mayor Probst inquired how many days Council has to make a decision regarding these expenditures. Mr. Stonehouse reported Council has 90 days to make their decision. There is a 30-day waiting period after the assessment hearing, which would bring the deadline for the decision to the end of April. Mr. Stonehouse further inquired ifit is the City's desire to award the bid to Valley Paving and draw up a formal contract at this time. Councilmember Hicks inquired regarding the Hamline A venue sewer odor problem. He stated in his opinion, this item could not be deleted, as it is a major concern. Mr. Stonehouse stated this item would remain in the project plan even if the proposed reconstruction of Hamline Avenue were deleted. Councilmember Malone inquired if any other areas of the project plan dealt with the Hamline Avenue sewer problem. Mr. Stonehouse stated there were no other areas. Councilmember Malone stated Council would have to seriously discuss this matter, as this amount was significantly over what was budgeted. He inquired what the total budget for this project was. Mr. Terry Post, City Accountant, replied the budget was $690,000, which comes from three different funding sources. MOTION: Malone moved and Hicks seconded a motion to adopt Resolution #97-10, Determining Assessed Cost of Improvement and Ordering Proposed Assessment Roll, 1997 Street Improvements, and to adopt Resolution #97-11, Ordering Assessment Hearing, 1997 Street Improvements. The motion carried unanimously (5-0). Councilmember Hicks observed that the City was not incurring any additional costs in approving these Resolutions, and that some portions of the plan could be dropped or tabled. Mr. Stonehouse stated the basic engineering will last for future years, if something needs to be set aside and done in a different year. C. Resolution #97-09, Approving Bingo Hall License Renewal Application, Pot O'Gold Bingo Mr. Post stated City Council is being asked to adopt Resolution #97-09, Approving the Bingo Hall License Application for Pot O'Gold Bingo. The current license expires in May. Mr. Post has completed all the necessary background checks and everything appears to be in order. He further stated the applicant was present at the meeting to answer any questions Council may have. . . . ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL - FEBRUARY 24, 1997 5 Councilmember Malone stated the City had received some complaints regarding heavy traffic exiting this facility and, on some occasions, driving recklessly. He stated he would like to discuss some ways of mitigating those concerns, such as a stop sign or another way to control traffic flow out of the parking lot. Goldie Siedow, 3776 Conway Avenue, owner of Pot O'Gold Bingo, came forward to address the Council. She stated that the parking lot empties out in a matter of minutes after a bingo session ends. She stated that, in her opinion, the bowling alley adjacent to her business has many of the same traffic concerns. Councilmember Malone inquired ifthere were ever two bingo sessions running concurrently. Ms. Siedow stated there were not. Councilmember Malone stated that it was not his intention to hold up this license approval, but he would like to have some discussion of the traffic concerns. Ms. Siedow stated she could have the bingo announcer remind people to drive safely and courteously as they leave the parking lot. Mayor Probst stated that it would probably help to have an announcement made. Ms. Siedow stated she would comply with this request. Councilmember Hicks inquired regarding the Charitable Gambling aspect of this business, and the method of scheduling session times to the different licensed charitable gambling organizations. Ms. Siedow stated the session times were in place when she took over, and as organizations have left, their vacant times have been filled with new organizations. MOTION: Hicks moved and Malone seconded a motion to adopt Resolution #97-09, Approving Bingo Hall License Renewal Application for Pot O'Gold Bingo. The motion carried unanimously (5-0). D. GIS Purchase Mr. Kevin Ringwald, Community Development Director, reported Council is being asked to authorize the purchase of a variety of GIS-related hardware, software and technical services. A portion of these items had previously been included in the 1996 municipal budget and a portion in the 1997 budget. The requested purchases, in total, would result in an unbudgeted 1997 capital expenditure of $4,460.00 With access to other agencies now available through the Cable Commission, Staff recommends proceeding with this item. Councilmember Hicks inquired the name of the company providing the technical expertise. Mr. Ringwald stated the company would be PlanSight of Stillwater. . . . ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL - FEBRUARY 24, 1997 6 Councilmember Hicks inquired if the expenditure for technical expertise was a fixed amount. Mr. Ringwald stated it was, and that the amount had been negotiated through the 1-35W Corridor Coalition. Councilmember Hicks inquired regarding the brand of PC, stating he felt the price for equipment was relatively high compared to what he has seen advertised. Mr. Ringwald stated this equipment purchase would go out for bid, and the City would accept the lowest bid. Councilmember Hicks reiterated his belief that the cost of the computer equipment seems to be excessive. Mr. Ringwald replied because of the large amount of data needing to be stored, it is necessary to purchase a more powerful computer to accommodate these storage needs. MOTION: Malone moved and Hicks seconded a motion to authorize the purchase of the GIS-related hardware, software, and technical services as per Staff recommendations. The motion carried unanimously (5-0). Councilmember Aplikowski inquired if this was to be the only expenditure for the GIS project, or ifthere would be more expenses in the future. Mr. Fritsinger stated there would be some initial training needed, and upgrades in the future. He stated the requested purchase of hardware would be sufficient for at least 2-3 years. E. Water Supply Alarm System Mr. Dwayne Stafford, Public Works Superintendent, reported the Public Safety Commission has recommended installing a water supply alarm system and Council is being asked to approve the alarm system and other improvements at this time. Mr. Stafford stated security is not sufficient in light of the thousands of dollars worth of equipment in the water tower, and the potential access to the City's water supply. He stated that while this is a significant expenditure, he feels it is a worthwhile expense. Mayor Probst inquired if a SCADA System could be used in conjunction with the proposed security system. Mr. Stafford replied the security system could be attached to a SCADA System, which would eliminate the installation costs. However, a SCADA System could take up to three years to place into operation. Councilmember Hicks asked for clarification of the costs, that they would include the Electro- Watchman bid for start-up and installation, and thereafter maintenance of$61.00 per month. Mr. Stafford stated those calculations were correct. Councilmember Hicks stated he felt this was a good investment, and that it should have been done earlier. . . . ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL - FEBRUARY 24, 1997 7 Councilmember Aplikowski inquired if equipment malfunctions were covered under a warranty. Mr. Stafford replied he assumed that would be the case. MOTION: Hicks moved and Malone seconded a motion to approve the alarm system and improvements to the water supply system via the Electro-Watchman bid. The motion carried unanimously (5-0). F. Infrastructure Plan File Update Mr. Stafford reviewed Council is being asked to approve the update of the municipal infrastructure plan. Currently, the as-built plans used by the City are in very poor condition, with many pages missing, out of order, tom or destroyed. These plans are used on a daily basis, and are used to locate manholes, hydrants and catch basins, and by developers. Authorization to proceed with an update would allow the City to work with MSA to reproduce all of the as-builts. There would be three copies of the Master Plan, color coded for ease of use, and on Mylar for ease of copying. Mayor Probst inquired, as this is an unbudgeted item, out of which fund the money was proposed to come. Mr. Fritsinger, City Administrator, stated it would be split between water, sanitary sewer, storm sewer, and street maintenance department funds. Councilmember Hicks inquired, if there were pages missing, how MSA would be able to produce copies. Mr. Stafford explained that MSA collected the originals from previous years, or they can create new ones as necessary. Councilmember Hicks stated that while he thinks this is a significant expenditure, he feels it is a worthwhile investment. Councilmember Malone stated his agreement with this also. Mayor Probst inquired ifthe City would have custody of the originals. Mr. Stonehouse stated that MSA would keep the originals, as their storage facilities are superior. The City of Arden Hills would also have a set, and the two sets would be stored separately. Councilmember Aplikowski inquired regarding the possibility of micro-filming these records. Mr. Fritsinger stated due to the size of these documents, micro-filming would not be a feasible option. He further stated micro-filming is being considered for files and routine paperwork. Councilmember Aplikowski also stated her belief that this was a worthwhile investment. Mayor Probst inquired ifthese documents could be reproduced electronically. Mr. Stonehouse replied that the cost of scanning onto CD-ROMs is prohibitive at the present time, but in 5-7 years this could be an option. . . . ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL - FEBRUARY 24,1997 8 Mayor Probst inquired ifthe new work being done by MSA will be stored electronically. Mr. Stonehouse stated that was the case, and all new data would be able to be scanned onto CD- ROMs in the future. MOTION: Keirn moved and Malone seconded a motion to approve the necessary funding to update the municipal infrastructure plan. The motion carried unanimously (5-0). ADMINISTRATOR COMMENTS Mr. Fritsinger reported on the dates of the Ramsey County Open Houses (Monday March 10 at 6:30 p.m., Wednesday March 12 at 2:00 p.m. and Thursday, March 13 at 6:30 p.m.). These are approximately two-hour tours, and if Council members would let him know which, if any, they plan to attend, he will call that information in to Ramsey County. Mayor Probst indicated he will attempt to attend on Thursday, March 13. Mr. Fritsinger reported on the Ramsey County Sheriffs Office reconciliation of services for 1996, with the total being $59,049, which was a higher amount than anticipated by approximately $15,000. Mayor Probst stated the amount for this item seems to be increasing every year, and these rebates are starting to approach 10% of budgeted expenditures for Police Protection services. Mr. Fritsinger agreed the amounts have risen for each of the last three years. Mr. Fritsinger stated this issue has been discussed among the various city managers in the last six months. It is his opinion now that with contract labor settlements having been accomplished by Ramsey County, the costs should stabilize in the future. He further stated City managers have discussed the possibility of a five-year budget, and other means of better forecasting costs for these services. Councilmember Malone commented Arden Hills has a small amount of patrol coverage per capita. In his opinion, it would be more beneficial for another patrol car to be added to the county rather than a cash refund for the City. Mayor Probst stated there are indications that the TCAAP program will impose certain requirements on the City that will have to be dealt with in the future. A discussion ensued regarding coverage between the cities covered under the Ramsey County Contract Cities agreement. Councilmember Hicks inquired how the City can be assured that $59,000 is a reasonable amount. Mr. Fritsinger stated this was mostly taken on good faith from the County. Councilmember Hicks inquired if these monies need to be paid up front. Mr. Fritsinger stated this was the case. . . . ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL - FEBRUARY 24, 1997 9 Mr. Fritsinger stated the business luncheon was to be held on Thursday at noon at the Holiday Inn. Mayor Probst indicated he would not be able to attend this function. COUNCIL COMMENTS Councilmember Malone stated he will attempt to keep the Council updated on discussions of the Transportation Advisory Board. He reported some ofthe projects affecting the City include the signal light at County Road F, which is scheduled for 1998, and the Highway 610 work, which is scheduled for this summer. Mayor Probst inquired if the map provided to Council in the non- agenda mail was the official Metropolitan Council plan. Councilmember Malone stated that it was, and proceeded with a brief overview of the map. A brief discussion ensued regarding the boundaries addressed on the map. Councilmember Keirn expressed her desire to appoint the Business Relations Committee in the near future. Councilmember Keirn inquired if General Steiner had been contacted regarding the sidewalk conditions at the armory. Mr. Fritsinger stated he had not been successful in contacting him, but he would attempt to do so this week. Mayor Probst reported he has a meeting scheduled with the Mayors of northwest Ramsey County to discuss the newly-elected County Commissioners and how the various cities could work as a group at the County level to accomplish their goals. This meeting is scheduled for Tuesday of this week. Mayor Probst reviewed various meeting notices and invitations requesting his or Councilmember attendance, including the Welsh Companies groundbreaking, Metropolitan Council Meetings, Healthy Youth Coalition, and the LMC Annual meeting. Mayor Probst indicated the planning director for the City of Minneapolis is scheduled to attend the Wednesday morning meeting of the I-35W Coalition. He stated this might mean the City of Minneapolis intends to become involved in this project. Mayor Probst indicated he would not be returning the Suburban Chamber of Commerce survey on property taxes, as he does not feel the property tax issue is clear enough to justify simply a "yes" or "no" answer. Mayor Probst reported that TCAAP activities should start to payoff in the near future. The City should have access to the property by Fall of this year. He stated it is his desire to begin projects immediately after taking possession of this property. The National Guard has indicated it can construct soccer/baseball fields on this property as a training exercise. ~ . . ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL - FEBRUARY 24 1997 10 Councilmember Malone reported there is a bill pending in the Legislature regarding waste control pricing. Councilmember Aplikowski requested the status of plans for the new Arden Hills City Hall be placed on the Council retreat agenda. ADJOURN MOTION: icks moved and Malone seconded a motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:40 p.m. T e moti carried unanimously (5-0). R~ City Administrator NOTICE OF MEETINGS The next regular City Council meeting will be held March 10, 1997, at 7:30 p.m. at the New Brighton Council Chambers.