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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-08-15 CC WS Minutes - Approved City Council 2012-08-15 6:30 p.m. Minutes of Work Session Present were Mayor Tom Wilharber, Council members Jeff Paar, Steve King, and Ben Fehrenbacher. Also present were Mark Statz of Bonestroo & Assoc., City Attorney Kurt Glaser, Public Works Director Paul Palzer and Finance Director Mike Jeziorski. Absent at the beginning of the meeting D Love, who arrived at 8:00 p.m. The purpose of the work session was to cover a variety of agenda items: 1. Street Program for 2013. Peterson Trail, etc. Staff reviewed the list of possible street improvements for 2013. Consensus was to do a full bituminous surface removal and replacement on Peterson Trail from Main Street to Fox Run, Fox Run westerly from Peterson Trail to its terminus in the cul de sac, Houle Circle from Peterson Trail to its terminus in the cul de sac and Hayfield Road from Mill Road to Peterson Trail. Estimated assessments for these streets in the 2009 Improvement were about $4200 per lot. The current plan modifies the improvement and the estimate is now about $2500 per lot. Consensus was to move this work forward. Center Street. Staff requested that the Council consider putting Center Street on the improvement list, due to its severely deteriorated condition and the fact that it was deferred from the 2004 Improvement and again in 2009. It was proposed that watermain be installed in Center Street but paid for from the Water Fund and then reimbursed through connection fees when properties hook up to the service. Staff also suggested installing a gravity sewer line in place of the lift station that serves the street and to bid service line installation into homes to allow homeowners the option of hooking up to water with all of the costs specially assessed. The council discussed th installing a trail or sidewalk along Center Street between Dupre and 20 Avenue. Paul Palzer suggested that the street lights on Center Street may be owned by the City. If that turns out to be the case, he would like to replace them with street lights owned by the utility company. It was noted that bolts on hydrants and valves, which are often severely corroded due to certain soil conditions, would be replaced in advance of the improvement. Council also discussed whether mail boxes, which will be removed during construction, should be grouped at reinstallation as required by city code. Consensus was to replace any city owned street lights with utility owned lights, but that mailboxes would be put back in their present locations. Council member Fehrenbacher suggested that the council wait until 2014 or 2015 to reconstruct Center Street. Consensus was that Center Street would be included in the street program for 2013 and that sidewalks would be included initially. They could be removed if there are significant objections during the public input stage of the process. Staff reviewed a financing plan for the street projects which back-loads the principal payments on the debt, deferring principal payments until financing of the 2004 project is paid off. This would minimize the impact on annual tax levies. The Council discussed the project schedule which tentatively calls for an open house on October 3, 2012, with a formal public hearing on November 27, 2012. The possibility of a combined improvement and assessment hearing was considered. That option will be looked at subsequent to the open house. Estimated special assessments were discussed and it was noted that the next step would be to order the feasibility study by the engineer. Council member Love arrived during discussion of Center Street. Centerville Road and Downtown Streets . Staff noted that downtown area streets could be improved, if Centerville Road is reconstructed by Anoka County. The Centerville Road improvement may necessitate the installation of the trunk stormwater line that will serve the downtown area, making it possible to do street improvements there. Staff pointed out that Centerville will have a cost share for reconstructing Centerville Road, primarily for drainage, curbs and trails. Cardinal/Robin Lane . Staff reported on the Robin Lane/Cardinal Drive area, which was also deferred from the 2009 Improvement plan. This area can be served by watermain from the rear of the lots, allowing the street to remain. Paul Palzer noted that these streets are in relatively good condition and that the need to replace the street was being driven by watermain. Staff will determine if the neighborhood income levels qualify it for Community Development Block Grants. If so, a grant application may be submitted to Anoka County to serve the homes with water. Estimated cost of the watermain would be about $200,000, and service installation to all of the homes would be another $100,000. 2.Budget and Levy. Mike Jeziorski, Finance Director, reviewed the draft budget, noting that changes requested by Council have been included in the current version of the budget. Mayor Wilharber suggested a 13% reduction in Council pay in order to provide money to increase committee pay to $40 per meeting. Council discussed pay for committee members noting that committee members are generally satisfied and had not requested a pay increase. After some discussion, consensus was to leave the committee pay rates at the current levels for 2013, and that council pay remain at current rates. Staff reviewed an analysis of vehicle costs for public works which supported the case for trading vehicles after two or three years, while still under warranty. Due to the significant discounts purchasing on the State bid contracts, the cost to own a typical pickup truck could be less than $1500 per year if traded after two years. The cost to own then stabilizes at about $2400 per year until about year five when repair costs push the number even higher. The one-ton dump truck has a cost of ownership at about $3500 per year which increases after about five years with repairs. Consensus was that staff should review the equipment schedule and submit a plan to annually budget the depreciation expense in order that the trade-in cash is available when the replacement is most appropriate. Since the one-ton dump truck would require $30,000 cash with the trade, council was not inclined to replace it in 2013. It was reported that the savings in insurance premium by increasing the deductible from $500 to $1000 is about $2000 per year. Consensus was that the change should be made to a higher deductible and this action will be put on the next agenda. Council discussed the idea of sharing staff with Lexington, particularly the city administrator. The administrator in both cities will likely retire within the next few years, so a transition to sharing may be feasible. Advantages and disadvantages were discussed. While somewhat skeptical that it could actually work, the consensus was to continue discussions with Lexington. Council member Fehrenbacher pointed out that the draft budget includes $7000 for irrigation for Hidden Spring Park. He questioned whether the council might support allowing this number to be instead used to fund the shortfall in building one new volleyball court. The council was open to the idea, if Park and Rec would make such a request. th Redevelopment of 7087 20 Avenue. 3.Administrator Larson reported on discussion with a potential business that would like to build a new building on the old public works site. In order for the project to work, the old building would need to be removed and the site filled to raise the elevation one to two feet. They would purchase the site, but it is proposed to use tax increment financing or tax abatement to prepare the property. The city would retain the southerly part of the site allowing another smaller site to be sold off and the city would keep a parcel under the water tower. The value of the new building is anticipated to be $800,000 to $1 million value. The site preparation costs were estimated to be about $150,000 and would take about ten years to recover through TIF. Consensus was that the project is a good one and should be aggressively pursued. Consider acquisition of Knabe parcel in Block 8, downtown. 4. Staff reported that Robert Knabe has expressed a willingness to sell his parcel downtown to the city for $20,000. Council felt that his price was way too high as compared to the assessor’s market value and that the city would still need to pay the cost to remove the building. Consensus was that the city would not be interested unless the price were much lower. Utility Rates and structure 5.. Administrator Larson reviewed the list of residential utility customers showing the amounts paid compared to the city’s costs including wastewater treatment charges by MCES. Using the average winter quarter to estimate sewer discharges, approximately 25 accounts did not pay enough sewer charge to even pay the cost of treatment of their wastewater discharge, and approximately 314 accounts pay less than the city costs for operations and are in effect subsidized by approximately 700 customers who use less water. Larson suggested a modified rate structure where the cost of wastewater treatment by MCES is billed at a rate per thousand gallons, using the water meter reading to determine use. The city costs for the collection system would continue to be a flat rate per unit, Approximately 460 residents would see a higher bill and about 600 households would pay lower costs. For very low volume user, the savings could be around $20 per quarter and for the very highest volume users, the bill could be as much as $100 more per quarter. To account for summer irrigation where some water does not enter the sewer, the charge would be capped at the winter average use. Consensus was that the rate structure should be modified to correct what seems to be an obvious inequity. Business Survey Results. 6.Due to the late hour, Council determined to take this matter up at another work session following the next regular council meeting. Drainage issues. 7. Paul Palzer reported on the work being done on the ditch that runs parallel and north of Center Street. Part of the ditch was cleaned by a contractor. Staff rented a small backhoe and will do additional ditch cleaning over the next week. The spoil would not be hauled away at this time but would be placed at the edge of the ditch bottom. The meeting was adjourned at approximately 10:40 p.m. Dallas Larson, Administrator