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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC 04-13-1998 . MINUTES CITY OF ARDEN HILLS, MINNESOTA CITY COUNCIL MEETING APRIL 13, 1998 7:30 P.M, - NEW BRIGHTON CITY 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. Also present were City Administrator, Brian Fritsinger; City Accountant, Terry Post; Community Development Director, Kevin Ringwald; Public Works Superintendent, Dwayne Stafford; and Recording Secretary, Salima Khakoo. ADOPT AGENDA Councilmember Aplikowski moved and Councilmember Keirn seconded a motion to adopt the agenda for the April 13, 1998, Regular City Council meeting as presented. Ibe motion carried unanimously (5-0). . APPROVAL OF MINUTES MOTION: A. March 16, 1998 - Council Worksession B, March 30, 1998 - Regular Council Meeting Councilmember Malone requested the following corrections to the March 30, 1998 Regular Council Meeting minutes: Page 10, paragraph 5, line 2, replace "consist" with "consisting" Page 10, paragraph 7, line 5, replace "curb and gutter" with "storm water system costs" Page II, paragraph 2, line 6, replace "curb and gutter" with "storm water system costs" Page 23, paragraph 2, line 2, replace "one contract garbage hauler" with "defined day of service" MOTION: Councilmember Hicks moved and Councilmember Keirn seconded a motion to approve the March 16, 1998, Council W orksession Meeting as presented. The motion carried unanimously (5-0). MOTION: Councilmember Hicks moved and Councilmember Keirn seconded a motion to approve the March 30, 1998, Regular Council Meeting as corrected. The motion carried unanimously (5-0). . . ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL - APRIL [3, 1998 2 CONSENT CALENDAR A. B. C. Claims and Payroll Proclamation, City Employee Jane Lund, Retirement Ordinance #306, Amending Cable Franchise Ordinance #226, Article II, Section 4, Franchise Term Resolution #98-39, Designating "No Parking" Restrictions, Gateway Boulevard Resolution #98-40, Vacating a Portion of Oak Avenue Right-of-Way D, E. MOTION: Councilmember Hicks moved and Councilmember Malone seconded a motion to approve the Consent Calendar as listed above and authorize execution of all necessary documents contained therein. The motion carried unanimously (5-0). Mayor Probst further acknowledged the dedicated service of Jane Lund, a City employee of Arden Hills who recently retired. Mayor Probst asked Councilmembers to sign the Proclamation after the City Council meeting was adjourned. PUBLIC COMMENTS Mayor Probst invited those present to come forward and address the Council on any items not already on the agenda. There were no public comments. . UNFINISHED AND NEW BUSINESS . A, Ordinance #304, Renaming a Portion of County Road F - (Billy Schacht Presentation) Mrs. Billy Schacht, 1683 West County Road F, addressed the City Council about the renaming of a portion of County Road F. Mrs. Schacht reported the results of surveys she conducted ofthe residents affected by the name change of the road. Mrs. Schacht explained that she conducted two surveys. The first survey asked residents about their choice of names that would replace the current name of County Road F. Mrs. Schacht explained that residents told her that they preferred having a list of choices from which to decide the future name of the road. Mrs. Schacht stated that she conducted a second survey which gave a choice of 15 names from which residents could pick their choice. Forty residents participated in the survey. The tally of the votes showed Lake Valentine Road as the first choice, receiving 13 votes; followed by Burr Oak Road, receiving 7 votes; and West Country Road, receiving 6 votes. Mrs. Schacht explained that the City Council could decide if they preferred the term road or drive to follow Lake Valentine as the new name. Councilmembers discussed the various options and decided on Lake Valentine Road as the appropriate name for a portion of County Road F. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL - APRIL 13. 1998 3 MOTION: Councilmember Aplikowski moved and Councilmember Keirn seconded a motion to approve Ordinance #304, Renaming a Portion of County Road F, amending paragraph 3a to include the name "Lake Valentine Road," The motion carried unanimously (5-0). . Mayor Probst thanked Mrs. Schacht for her help. B, Pay Estimate #3, Lametti Construction, Gateway Business District Mr. Dwayne Stafford, Public Works Superintendent, explained that the City awarded Lametti & Sons, Inc. of Hugo, Minnesota the Gateway Business District, 14th Street Northeast project on October 14, 1997. They have completed construction of the new 21 inch sanitary sewer. The line was tested, approved, and is currently in operation. The contractor is now completing earthwork and water main construction along the roadway and Payment Request #3 includes payment for items associated with that work. He recommended the Council approve Pay Estimate #3. MOTION: Councilmember Malone moved and Councilmember Keirn seconded a motion to approve Pay Estimate #3 for Lametti & Sons, Inc. of Hugo, Minnesota in the amount of $97,000.98 with a 5% retainage being held for the project. The motion carried unanimously (5-0). . c. Nextel Communications, Lcase Amendment Mr. Ringwald explained that Nextel Communications, formerly known as One Comm, was requesting approval to modify the location of their antennas on the City's Red Fox Road water tower as presented in Exhibit A of the Staff Memorandum dated April 13, 1998. Mr. Ringwald stated that Nextel and the City entered into a lease agreement on April 26, 1995 to facilitate the construction of an antenna array. The lease agreement allowed Nextel to update or replace the Antenna Facilities with the prior written consent ofthe City of Arden Hills, provided that the replacement facilities were not greater in number than the existing facilities and that their location on the leased portion of the Water Tower was satisfactory to the City. Mr. Ringwald explained that the existing approval, as presented in Exhibit B, pages 18, 19 and 24 of the Staff Memorandum dated April 13, 1998, provided for three 15 foot tall whip antennas on top of the water tower and three four foot tall sets of three antennas around the bottom of the water tower bowl. Currently, three 15 foot tall whip antennas existed on the water tower, but the three four foot tall sets of three antennas had yet to be installed. Nextel had continued to pay the lease on the installed and uninstalled antennas. Mr. Ringwald explained that the applicant is requesting authority to remove the three 15 foot tall antennas on top of the tower and replace them with three sets of three panel antennas. . Mr. Ringwald stated the Staff had two issues that needed to be clarified. The first clarification was in regard to the monthly access charge. Mr. Ringwald explained that he had incorrectly stated the monthly access charge in the Staff memorandum dated Aprill3, 1998. The correct per monthly charge should read $750.00 per month. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL - APRIL 13. 1998 4 . The second clarification was in regard to the waiving of the monthly service charge for the portable telephones. Mr. Ringwald explained that Nextel would not waive its monthly service charge for the portable telephones even if both parties desired to do so. Mr. Ringwald stated that the staff recommends approval of the requested modification including the removal of the three whip antelUlaS conditioned on painting of the three sets of three antennas to match the water tower, and provision of two ESMR portable telephones to the City. Mr. Ringwald introduced Mr. Bill Buell, representing Nextel Commnnications, and stated that Mr. Buell was supportive ofthe Staff recommendations. Councilmember Malone asked if the proposed antennas could be supported by rails upon which thcy arc placed and whether the winds would cause damage to the antcnnas and the water tower. Mr. Buell responded that the antennas can be lowered and thc bottoms of the antennas would be placed as close to the bottom of the tank as possiblc. Mr. Buell stated that Nextel Communications would assess thc strcngth ofthc rail by having a structural cnginecr study the appropriate structure and providc rcsults ofthc study to the City, Mr. Buell also explained the construction of thc pancls and adviscd that thc antennas would be bolted to the top and bottom of thc rail and they would submit dctailed attachments plans. . Councilmember Malone stated that he wanted to minimize the visual impact ofthe taller antennas sincc one is able to sce the top of the water tower clearly from 1-694. Mr. Buell agrecd to inform Nextel Communications about minimizing the visual impact ofthc antennas. Mayor Probst asked Mr. Buell about thc possibility of painting the antennas in the same color as the rest of the water tower. Mr. Buell stated that Nextel Communications would paint the antennas to match the color of the watcr tower. Mr. Ringwald prcscnted the diagram of the previous antennas, Exhibit B (marked "null and void"), and thc diagram of the proposed antennas, Exhibit B. Mr. Buell stated that the proposed antennas would need to be placed higher on the water tower, for example, on the top instead of under the bowl, than the previous agreement allowed. This would clear room on the side of the water tower for other companies to leasc space for antennas and potentially raise future revenues for thc City. Mr. Buell also explained that Nextel had continued to pay for lease spacc of nine antennas even though only three antennas wcre installed. This was done in order to reserve space for future antennas. Mayor Probst inquired about the monthly lease cost that Nextel currently pays and the possibility to increasing the lease in the future. Mr. Buell explained that the City's agreement with Nextel based the lease cost on the quantity of antennas, not the height of the antennas. Since the proposal did not increase the total quantity of . antennas, the lease cost should remain the same. Mayor Probst inquired about thc current market price for leasing space for antennas. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL - APRIL 13. 1998 5 . Mr. Fritsinger responded that the current lease of $750 per month was a little low for a market price, but was not that far out of line. Mr. Fritsinger also stated that the possibility of enhancing future revenue through leasing Nextel's unused space on the water tower may make the current monthly lease agreement worthwhile. Councilmember Malone stated that the visibility ofthe red light on top of the water tower that had been voluntarily installed by the City may be blocked by the proposed antennas. If the FAA required the light to be visible in the future, the applicant would be responsible for ensuring visibility. Councilmember Malone explained that he did not expect any changes in the FAA regulation. MOTION: Councilmember Aplikowski moved and Councilmember Malone seconded a motion to approve Planning Case 95-1, for the requested modification to the antennas including the removal of three whip antennas conditioned on painting of the three sets of tlrree antennas to match the water tower and provision of two ESMR portable or transportable telephones to the City. The motion carried unanimously (5-0). ADMINISTRATOR COMMENTS Mr. Fritsinger stated that no agreement had been reached with the landlord on the lease of space for the future Arden Hills City Hall. Mr. Fritsinger explained timing issues involved for the City . to let the community know that they are moving their offices to a new location. Mayor Probst asked ifthe tentative date of the move was May 1, 1998. Mr. Fritsinger responded that the moving date was dependent on when the negotiations for the new site were completed. The estimated date of the move was a week after the completion of these negotiations. Mayor Probst asked if Staff was negotiating with the current tenant or the landlord of the new site. Mr. Fritsinger replied that Staff was negotiating with the landlord of the new site. Mr. Fritsinger reported on a meeting he attended with Mr. Stafford and Mr. Ringwald to discuss the plans by the City of Shoreview and Ramsey County to begin construction on County Road I. He advised the City of Shoreview and Ramsey County are looking for information about what the development will be on the TCAAP property. At this point, there is little information about that potential devclopment but some of the houses have been removed. Ramsey County encouraged staff to proceed with investigatory work so they can proceed with plans. Mr. Fritsinger stated that the conclusion is that for 1999, the County will look at improvements from the 1-35 bridge east to Schutta Road. They will also conduct studies regarding the desired approach on the east end. The City of Shoreview has started the EIS process and hopes to begin construction next year. Mr. Fritsinger asked about the position of the City Council on future improvements along County Road I in Arden Hills, . . . . ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL - APRIL 13. 1998 6 Mr. Fritsinger reviewed his conversation with regard to the Army and retrocession. He anticipates receiving that information for discussion at the next Workshop. Hc stated the City continued with a formal request to thc Governor. The Governor, in turn, asked for local feedback on the stated request. COUNCIL COMMENTS Councilmember Hicks clarified that thc newspaper article identifying Roger Aiken as a member of the Arden Hills Road Policy Committee was erroneous. No such committee existed in Arden Hills. Councilmember Aplikowski stated that she really enjoyed the letters she received from young people in Arden Hills. In one letter, the young people stated that they preferred unpaved bike trails. Councilmember Aplikowski explained that shc believed the article in Focus and Bulletin claiming the City Councilmembers don't pay attention to residents' needs was erroneous. Councilmember Aplikowski stated that she believed the City Council is sensitive to residents' needs. Councilmember Keirn explained that although she was absent on March 30, 1998, she would have abstained from voting on the 1998 Street Improvement Project because she was personally involved in the assessment process. Mayor Probst stated that the Mayor of Shoreview contacted him about increased night time activity at TCAAP. Mayor Probst asked Staff to check if there had been an increase in night time activity at MnDOT and bricfhim on their findings. Mayor Probst statcd that a conference was being held in Phoenix, Arizona on issues related to TCAAP on Friday April 17, 1998. Mayor Probst asked City Councilmembers if they agree to send Mr. Fritsinger to the conference. No objections were made and Mr. Fritsinger was given approval to attend the conference in Phoenix. Mayor Probst informed City Councilmembers that the Healthy Youth Coalition met regularly and would be mecting again on Thursday, April 16, 1998 from 5:30 to 6:30 p,m. Mayor Probst stated that he would be unable to attend. Councilmember Aplikowski stated that she would attend the meeting. Mayor Probst stated that the City Council had been invited to Northwestern College on Saturday, April 25, 1998. Mayor Probst stated that he couldn't attend but requested other Councilmembers to attend. . . . ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL - APRIL 13. 1998 ADJOURN 7 MOTION: Councilmember Malone moved and Councilmember Keim seconded a motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:30 p.m. The motion carried unanimously (5-0). ~ Britfu ntsi'- ,~~ City Administrator NOTICE OF MEETINGS The next regular City Council meeting will be held April 27, 1998, at 7:30 p.m. at the New Brighton Council Chambers.