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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-03-10 CC Minutes - Approved Approved CITY OF CENTERVILLE CITY COUNCIL MEETING March 10, 2021 6:30 p.m. Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the City of Centerville held their regularly scheduled City Council Meeting on March 10, 2021 via Zoom Videoconferencing at: https://zoom.us/j/478824301, Meeting ID: 478 824 301 with audio only available at: 312-626- 6799. The meeting was also live streamed by North Metro TV. COUNCIL MEETING I. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Love called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. ROLL CALL* PRESENT: Mayor D. Love Council Member Steve King Council Member Russ Koski Council Member Michelle Lakso Council Member Darrin Mosher ABSENT: None. STAFF: City Administrator Mark Statz City Attorney Kurt Glaser *Note that “present” is construed to mean that the noted individuals were visibly and audibly present on the videoconference call. II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE III. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Mayor Love took a moment to recognize Women’s History Month. He thanked Council Member Lakso for being a member of Council and CERT. He also recognized Ms. Mary Capra for being the only female Mayor in Centerville’s history. He also expressed his appreciation to the women who work at City Hall, the Police Department, and the Fire Department. He stated that they have everyone’s sincere appreciation for everything they have done for the City. Mayor Love provided an opportunity for others to add or delete any items. Administrator Statz added Checks #33614-33615 to Consent Agenda Item #1. Motion by Council Member Koski, seconded by Council Member Lakso to Approve the Agenda as Amended. A roll-call vote was taken. Mayor Love and Council Members King, Koski, Lakso & Mosher voted in favor. Motion carried. City of Centerville Council Meeting Minutes March 10, 2021 IV. APPOINTMENTS/PRESENTATIONS 1. None. V. PUBLIC HEARINGS 1. None VI. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES 1. November 12, 2020 City Council Meeting Minutes Mayor Love noted on page 5, it stated that there were no public comments but there was one public comment from Mr. Steve King prior to him being on Council. Mayor Love provided an opportunity for members to make corrections or additions. Motion by Council Member Lakso, seconded by Council Member Koski to Approve November 12, 2020 City Council Meeting Minutes with the noted change on page 5. A roll- call vote was taken. Mayor Love and Council Members Lakso, King & Koski voted in favor. Council Member Mosher – abstained. Motion carried. VII. CONSENT AGENDA 1. City of Centerville Claims through March 10, 2021 (Check 33589-33613) & 1663E- 1667E) & Check #33614-33615 (CDC Consulting - Acorn Creek Park Survey and Design Work Acorn Creek Park & Mastercard – General Expenditures) 2. Centennial Lake Police Department Claims through March 4, 2021 (Check #13682- 13698) & (2021009-2021010E) 3. Escrow Agreement – 7085 Centerville Road 4. Assessment Agreement – 7085 Centerville Road 5. Escrow Agreement – 7087 Centerville Road 6. Assessment Agreement – 7087 Centerville Road 7. Midwest Multi-Sport Races, LLC/Shake Your Shamrock, March 13, 2021 – 11 am – 1 pm Administrator Statz explained that Check #33614 was for CDC Consulting for their work designing and surveying the additional parking spaces at Acorn Creek Park and Check #33615 was the MasterCard for general expenditures. Mayor Love provided an opportunity for Council to add or remove any item(s) to/from the Consent Agenda. Council Member King asked to pull Items 3, 4, 5 & 6 for discussion. Page 2 of 8 City of Centerville Council Meeting Minutes March 10, 2021 Motion by Council Member Koski , seconded by Council Member Lakso to Approve Items #1, #2, and #7 of the Consent Agenda, as presented. A roll-call vote was taken. Mayor Love and Council Members Lakso, King, Koski & Mosher voted in favor. Motion carried. Administrator Statz asked to run through the revisions to these documents before Council Member King asked his questions or made his comments. He explained that that an individual is interested in purchasing the former Vincenzo Catering Service property, as well as the property to the south which is under joint ownership. The City ordinance states that upon the sale of the property, the property must be connect to municipal water. He stated that the prospective buyer has approached him regarding the policy and stated that his intent is to redevelop the property in the near future. He stated that the City would like to foster the development spirit by being helpful if possible. He stated that staff shared information regarding the program to offer half price fees and offered the option of assessing those fees to the property or entering into an agreement to escrow funds to complete the work if for some reason the development did not happen within a certain period of time similar to other businesses and locations. The prospective buyer asked if the City could do a 5-year sunset to either redevelop the property or to connect to municipal water. He reminded the Council that the cost to connect is generally around $18,000, which can be a hindrance to redevelopment when the City is attempting to encourage redevelopment. He stated that the idea behind escrowing these funds with a sunset date would be as an incentive to redevelop and put the funds away to ensure that there is the ability to force the connection if redevelopment fails. He explained that there are four agreements because there are two different properties and two different things happening: assessing the connection fees; escrowing the funds for the physical hook-up. He noted that the reason there are four (4) agreements as there are two (2) separate properties with connection fees that will be assessed to the property taxes and the necessity to ensure that the physical connection is completed and paid for. Administrator Statz explained the fees in the agreements and explained that the original escrow agreement had 150% of the cost and that has been revised to 100% and an added a clause that the quotes will be updated on a regular basis ensuring that the funds escrowed meet the required fees. He reiterated that the City has done this with other properties in the past. He stated he is recommending that change be made to both escrow agreements. He noted that only one of the assessment agreements are changing and should read: “The cost listed below fully satisfies payment in full for a lateral benefit fee and four (4) water access fees.” He stated that this property has four (4) residential equivalent hook-ups: the catering business has two (2) and the apartments up above have two (2). He explained that the discount is 50% of the fees that are on the assessment agreement, so the subject parcel would pay $7,700 which without the discount program would have been $15,400. Council Member King asked if the $18,000 connection cost was for each property. Administrator Statz stated the escrow totals $18,000 and explained that the existing owner obtained a quote from Olson Sewer, to complete both connections which totaled $18,000. Council Member King asked about page 23, paragraph C, where it states “the cost listed below that satisfies payment in full for a lateral benefit fee and a water access fee. The amount listed Page 3 of 8 City of Centerville Council Meeting Minutes March 10, 2021 below equals half the amount of these fees.” He asked what documents the reduction and what in this paperwork tells the public the reason for the reduction. Administrator Statz stated that later in the document it states “the remaining portion of these fees has been paid for and satisfied by a City grant program”. He noted that this was approved at a recent Council meeting where they voted to offer half-price hook-up fees during COVID. Council Member King stated that he would like the document to be specific and asked if that was called the Covid Business Relief Grant. Administrator Statz noted that the City did not come up with a fancy name for it, but agrees that the document could be changed so it is more specific and say that the fees have been paid by the 2021 Covid Relief Grant Program and perhaps also cite the resolution/motion and add in those specifics. Council Member King confirmed that he had read somewhere that the prospective buyer is liable for all the expenses associated with the drafting of the documents. City Attorney Glaser explained that there is language in the escrow agreement that requires him to be responsible for a variety of fees. Council Member King noted that on page 24 at top under 2, it states “any claims that assessment exceeds the benefit to the subject property….” He asked for an explanation of that statement. City Attorney Glaser explained that with this agreement, it is waiving all the rights they would have if they wanted to push the City for a formal assessment hearing. At a formal assessment hearing, the City has to prove that the benefit to the property will either exceed or is equal to the amount assessed. Administrator Statz stated that this is a voluntary option for the prospective buyer rather than paying it up front and clarified that this has not been forced on them. City Attorney Glaser noted that the word “benefit” in this paragraph has legal meaning that is beyond the common definition of ‘benefit’. Council Member King noted that he had spoken with Administrator Statz earlier and asked if this could be split up, what the total amounts would be without the grant for each of the properties. Administrator Statz noted that the two (2) escrow agreements have no grant associated with them and that the special assessment waivers would be $7,700 and $4,925 of which a discount of $12,625 has been given. He noted that would be multiplied by 2 for a total of $25,250 for all fees associated with both properties. Council Member Mosher asked if that would be spread over 15 years at 2.5% . Page 4 of 8 City of Centerville Council Meeting Minutes March 10, 2021 Administrator Statz concurred and stated that it should be quite affordable. He explained that this is similar to what the City did for people in the downtown area that elected to connect to municipal services. Council Member Koski asked about an item on page 19 of the packet and noted that he did not understand the reference to $12,650.85. Administrator Statz explained that had been changed and noted that in some escrow agreements they will be conservative and ask for 150% of the cost, but in this case, there is a direct quote, so 100% of the cost is actually $8,443. Mayor Love stated that he wanted to make it clear that he is very supportive of businesses and he voted in favor of the program that will be utilized in this situation. He stated that if there is an opportunity to spur development and long-term thinking, he would support that, but thought that the program had a timeframe of the end of 2021. He asked how allowing a five-year term to connect to municipal water could be justified when any other business would need to get the hook- up done this year. Administrator Statz explained that he viewed it as the prospective buyer committing to paying the fee this year, but with different payment terms. Mayor Love asked whether the City would approve if one (1) of the other businesses that spurred the Council to think about this program were to come and ask for this same type of deal and noted that he feels this would set a precedent. Administrator Statz stated that even without precedent, he would have interpreted this the same. He stated that the City has always offered, with other hook-ups, to assess the hook-up fees over a period of time so people can more easily afford it. Mayor Love stated that there was a huge bill passed by the House today to allow the City to receive funds in order to take care of COVID expenses. He stated that with the last program, the City had to get to year end and make sure they could justify spending those dollars. Administrator Statz clarified that the hook-up would be paid for with the escrow funds. He stated that he has been following the legislation and one of the features that that legislation is that it seems to be tracking towards allowing the City to recover lost revenues. This discount program would be viewed that way along with discounted liquor license fees and those types of things. He stated that he has a feeling that the City will be able to recover the discounted water rates through that fund. Motioned by Council Member Koski, seconded by Council Member King, to Approve Consent Agenda Items #3, #4, #5, and #6 as Presented with Language Contained in the Agreements that the COVID Relief Grant Program was Covering A Portion of the Fees. A roll-call vote was taken. Mayor Love and Council Members Lakso, King, Koski & Mosher voted in favor. Motion carried. VIII. OLD BUSINESS Page 5 of 8 City of Centerville Council Meeting Minutes March 10, 2021 1. None. IX. NEW BUSINESS 1. None. X. COUNCIL/ADMINISTRATOR ANNOUNCEMENTS 1. Administrator’s Report Administrator Statz stated that things are finally into the vaccination stage of COVID. He explained that the City has found some volunteers to assist with Fete de Lacs and the Main Street Market but are still looking for vegetables and other traditional farmer’s market items such as homegrown produce, eggs from backyard chicken producers, etc. for the farmer’s market. There are lots of exciting things happening with the EDA and noted that there is a meeting coming up next week. The school is reworking some of their numbers associated with their remodel and noted that City staff has been working with them to revise the plan and find ways to make it more affordable. He stated that 14 people have already joined the Adopt-A-Storm drain program and encouraged others to contact the City if they are interested. He stated that there is a lot of outreach programming available through the MS4 program and explained that the City partners with County/Regional conglomerates. Council Reports a. Lakso - Council Member Lakso stated that she did not have any reports to give but thanked Mayor Love for his statement on Women’s History Month and noted that she has definitely been inspired by women who have served before her. i. Anoka County Fire Protection Council – Meeting will be held April 29, 2021 ii. Parks & Recreation – No report given. b. Koski – i. Fire Steering Committee – Meeting will be held April 15, 2021 ii. Planning & Zoning Commission – Council Member Koski gave an overview of the recent Planning and Zoning Commission meeting where they discussed the Peltier Estates project. He stated that the project is basically what the Council had already approved three years ago. Administrator Statz noted that they are planning to begin this project in the spring and explained that the preliminary agreements will come before the Council at their next meeting. Council Member Koski stated that with the warmer weather there are more children outside playing and encouraged residents to watch their speed and be aware of those neighborhoods that have children and be extra careful. He also encouraged people to help out with the trash that has Page 6 of 8 City of Centerville Council Meeting Minutes March 10, 2021 been exposed by the snow melt. He expressed his appreciation to Mayor Love for his acknowledgements of women in the community. c. King – i. Economic Development Authority – Meeting will be held March 17, 2021 d. Mosher – i. Economic Development Authority – Meeting will be held March 17, 2021 ii. Police Governing Board – Meeting will be held May 10, 2021 e. Love – i. Police Governing Board – Meeting will be held May 10, 2021 ii. Fire Steering Committee – Meeting will be held April 15, 2021 iii. North Metro Telecommunication Commission – Meeting will be held March 17, 2021 iv. Other Mayoral Reports – Noted that he had received a question on whether there should be a Council float at the Fete des Lacs parade and asked the Council to start thinking about it for future discussion. He stated that there is a need for a parade announcer because he and his wife are going to pass along those duties and allow someone else to step up and be the voice of the City. Explained that he was wearing a suit and tie for tonight’s meeting because today would have been Day at the Hill day which means he normally would have been in Washington D.C. visiting with the senators and State representatives to talk about things that are important to the cities. He stated that instead of going to their offices, those meetings took place over Zoom. He stated that he had the opportunity to attend an Anoka County meeting regarding partner violence. He stated that it was very educational and gave kudos to Alexandra House for being a great partner with the City with offering resources and education. He stated that North Metro T.V. has proposed to provide a camera operator for all live meetings once City Hall is open to the public. He also stated that they are still working on the contract with Comcast that ended on December 31, 2020 and trying to get a new contract with a 10-year term. There are currently oral arguments going on to appeal the use of music publicly. Mayor Love reiterated his appreciation for the women in the community, including elected officials, volunteers, Moms, wives, daughters and stated that he supports Women’s History Month. XI. ADJOURNMENT Page 7 of 8 City of Centerville Council Meeting Minutes March 10, 2021 Motion by Council Member King, seconded by Council Member Mosher, to Adjourn the Regularly Scheduled Council meeting at 7:26 p.m. A roll-call vote was taken. Mayor Love and Council Members Koski, Lakso, Mosher & King voted in favor. Motion carried. Respectfully submitted by City Clerk, Teresa Bender. Page 8 of 8