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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-04-14 CC Minutes - Approved Approved CITY OF CENTERVILLE CITY COUNCIL MEETING April 14, 2021 6:30 p.m. Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the City of Centerville held their regularly scheduled City Council Meeting on April 14, 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 D. Love called the meeting to order at 6:31 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 provided an opportunity for others to add or delete any items. Administrator Statz stated that due to the local law enforcement agencies being very busy right now, the Anoka County Sheriff’s Department will not be giving their annual report this evening. He stated that he also has some documents to include in the record: COVID plan for the Anoka County Radio Club (#4 Consent Agenda); Revised documents that he will present during the meeting (#2 Old Business) Motion by Council Member King, seconded by Council Member Mosher, 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. IV. APPOINTMENTS/PRESENTATIONS City of Centerville Council Meeting Minutes April 14, 2021 1. None. V. PUBLIC HEARINGS 1. Local Board of Appeal and Equalization Ms. Mary Wells introduced herself and Misters Chris Larson, Erik Skogquist and Alex Guggenberg, Anoka County Assessor. She gave a brief update on the property assessment and appeals process including specific information about the current assessment. The 2021 Valuation Notices were mailed out by Anoka County the week of March 29 along with the 2021 Property Tax Statements. She stated that she received about 3 or 4 residential calls with some general questions. She gave a brief summary of the 2021 assessment and noted that it has met all of the assessments standards set by the State. The total estimated market value of the City increased 3.5% from last year and landed at 1.2% when new construction was taken out. Council Member King asked about the 49 homes that were unqualified. Ms. Wells stated that those homes would be, for example, new construction sales and anything that is not considered an arm’s length transaction. She stated it would also be things like bank sales or foreclosures, but her recollection is that there were not any of those types in the City this year. Council Member Koski asked about the total valuation amounts and if they represented both residential and commercial properties. Ms. Wells confirmed that this was correct and represented the entire City. Mayor Love stated that he was happy to see the City continued to gain value and continue to grow as a City. Motion by Council Member Koski, seconded by Council Member Lakso, to Open the Public Hearing for the Local Board of Appeal and Equalization. A roll-call vote was taken. Mayor Love and Council Members King, Koski, Lakso & Mosher voted in favor. Motion carried. Mayor Love suggested keeping the Public Hearing open in order to give the residents a chance to comment if they logged into the meeting late. Ms. Wells stated that there are several Parcel ID #s that need to be read into the minutes. Mayor Love stated that he would like to move on with the next agenda item and reiterated that he would like come back to that information in case residents log onto the meeting late. Page 2 of 11 City of Centerville Council Meeting Minutes April 14, 2021 VI. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES 1. None. VII. CONSENT AGENDA Administrator Statz stated that the Anoka County Radio Club had submitted a COVID preparedness plan (#4). 1. City of Centerville Claims through April 14, 2021 (Check #33643-33676) & (1677E- 1679E) 2. Centennial Lake Police Department Claims through April 1, 2021 (Check #13731-13749) (E2021013-2021014 3. Centennial Fire District Claims through February 9, 2021 (Check #9052- 9062) & (2E021006) 4. Anoka County Radio Club Special Event Permit 5. Authorize Submission of CenterPoint Energy Community Safety Grant Application Mayor Love provided an opportunity for the Council to add or remove any item(s) to/from the consent agenda. Motion by Council Member Koski, seconded by Council Member Lakso to Approve the Consent Agenda as Amended. A roll-call vote was taken. Mayor Love and Council Members King, Koski, Lakso & Mosher voted in favor. Motion carried. PUBLIC HEARINGS – Continued… Mayor Love asked if there had been any residents who had joined and wished to speak at the public hearing regarding the Local Board of Appeal and Equalization. Administrator Statz stated that there was no one who desired to speak. Ms. Wells read into the record: PIN # - 14-31-22-31-0042; PIN# - 26-31-22-12-0005; PIN# - 26- 31-22-12-0006; PIN # - 23-31-22-43-0002 (agricultural – Linda Broussard/Vickers; PIN # - 23- 31-22-23-0008; PIN # - 23-31-22-23-0013; PIN # - 23-31-22-23-0010; PIN # - 23-31-22-23-0005; PIN # - 23-31-22-23-0006; PIN # - 23-31-22-23-0007; PIN # - 23-31-22-23-0009; PIN # - 23-31- 22-23-0014; PIN # - 23-31-22-21-0051; PIN # - 23-31-22-21-0058; PIN# - 23-31-22-22-0005; PIN # - 23-31-22-22-0004; PIN # - 23-31-22-22-0009; PIN # - 23-31-22-22-0010; PIN# - 23-31- 22-22-0011 (exempt parcel valuations – Bruce DeJong). Mr. Alex Guggenberg, Anoka County Assessor, noted that exempt properties were reviewed once every 6 years and the next exempt assessment is coming up next year. Mr. Erik Skogquist gave a brief presentation regarding some properties whose owners have reached out to him. He explained the location of the office/condo complex just south of the water tower that has three separate buildings which are each divided in half so each is a condominium Page 3 of 11 City of Centerville Council Meeting Minutes April 14, 2021 unit, which means there are a total of 6 units in this complex. He was contacted by the owner of K.C. Holdings, LLC, Mr. Justin Knabe, as well as a third owner regarding the units. He explained that three of these properties sold about a year ago, yet every sale is a bit unique. One of the properties that was sold to K.C. Holdings, LLC sold in February of 2020 for $192,500; the parcel purchased by Mr. Knabe sold November of 2019 for $270,000; and the third parcel with the Farmers Insurance Agency sold for around $190,000 as well, but included purchasing the business. The parcel for K.C. Holding was on the market for about a year and started at $280,000, went as low as $170,000 where there was a bidding war and the ultimate purchase price was $192,500. He explained that the owner was terminally ill and desired to liquidate his assets prior to his death. The $270,000 sale had a partial sale/lease back which means the prior owner sold it with the condition that they would continue to lease half of the unit for 5 more years, so that situation would not be a perfect “arm’s length” transaction. The third example was someone who bought the building, but also bought the business. He explained that all three of these transactions were not perfectly clean. He explained how he had looked for comparable properties throughout the County and how that changed his recommendation for a valuation adjustment for all 6 of the units to $231,200, even if they did not contact him. He noted that another option would be to make slight adjustments based on the age of the units. Council Member King asked if comparable properties had to be within a certain distance from the property. Mr. Skogquist explained that the best thing is to look for something similar in style, age, and location, but noted that it gets more difficult with commercial property because there are more variations. He stated that he thinks the true value is above $192,000, but below $270,000. Council Member Koski stated that he does not think the proposed $231,200 is out of line. Mr. Guggenberg stated that he agrees with Mr. Skogquist’s analysis and feels his approach was logical. He gave some examples of an uptick in values in Blaine that were due to an exodus from downtown Minneapolis businesses due to recent unrest. Council Member Mosher asked what the 2020 value of the parcels were. Mr. Skogquist stated that they were all around $251,000 to $255,000 range last year. Mayor Love stated that it appears as though some adjustments will need to be made and asked how they should proceed. Mr. Guggenberg stated that the Council could make a motion to adjust the values as suggested by Mr. Skogquist and explained that the property owners whose PIN #’s were read into minutes by Ms. Wells still have the ability to appeal to the County Board. Mayor Love asked the Council for their opinion on the recommended valuation adjustments. The Council discussed details surrounding the sale of the properties that were sold for $270,000 and $192,500 and came to a consensus that they supported lumping the 6 parcels together for a consistent valuation. Page 4 of 11 City of Centerville Council Meeting Minutes April 14, 2021 Motion by Council Member Koski, seconded by Council Member King to Close the Public Hearing for the Local Board of Appeal and Equalization. A roll-call vote was taken. Mayor Love and Council Members King, Koski, Lakso & Mosher voted in favor. Motion carried. Motion by Council Member Koski, seconded by Council Member Mosher to Add a New Agenda Item to Consider Adjustments to Property Valuations as Presented. A roll-call vote was taken. Mayor Love and Council Members King, Koski, Lakso & Mosher voted in favor. Motion carried. Motion by Council Member Koski, seconded by Council Member King to Approve the Adjustments to Property Valuations as Presented. A roll-call vote was taken. Mayor Love and Council Members King, Koski, Lakso & Mosher voted in favor. Motion carried. Ms. Wells asked Mr. Guggenberg how the form would get signed. Mr. Guggenberg stated that similar to last year, he has signed it on behalf of all the Council Members and noted that they were in attendance at the meeting and will be included along with the official PIN list that is sent to the State. VIII. OLD BUSINESS 1. Sale of Public Works Trucks Administrator Statz explained that the City had bought three (3) trucks last year, however they were not delivered until about three months ago. He explained that the trucks that are proposed for sale are two (2) Ford Rangers and one (1) of the Chevy trucks. They will be sold through an on-line auction and noted that later this year when the Council is discussing the budget, they will also discuss which other trucks will go through in the next purchase cycle. He explained that there will be a day where people will be allowed to come take a look at the trucks but will not allow test driving because of potential COVID issues. Council Member Koski asked if any of the accessories would be sold along with the trucks, and gave the example of the plow attachment for the Chevy truck. Administrator Statz stated that he believes the plow will be sold along with the truck because he does not think they will be transferrable to the new trucks. He stated that the brine spreader would not be sold along with the truck and believes that it just happened to be in the truck at the time the picture was taken. Motion by Council Member Lakso, seconded by Council Member King to Approve the Sale of Public Works Trucks, as Presented. A roll-call vote was taken. Mayor Love and Council Members King, Koski, Lakso & Mosher voted in favor. Motion carried. 2. Memorandum of Agreement (MOA)– LaMotte Stormwater Systems/Downtown Redevelopment – Rice Creek Watershed District Page 5 of 11 City of Centerville Council Meeting Minutes April 14, 2021 Administrator Statz explained that this is an addition to an existing agreement that the City has with the Rice Creek Watershed District (RCWD). He gave a brief overview of the original agreement from 2011 and the initiation of the expansion of the system. He stated that this MOA just amends the original agreement to add the other areas under the same agreement terms. He reviewed the minor modifications to the agreement. Council Member King stated that he would like to make sure the City has this document signed and in hand before anything proceeds downtown. He asked if this agreement was just a formality and expressed concern about RCWD changing their rules in the future. Attorney Glaser explained that this contract governs the relationship between the two parties. He stated that this contract will help the City because it defines the requirements for stormwater in a unique way. If the RCWD came back and attempted to pull the rug out from underneath the City they will just pull out the contract which will ensure that the City has met its obligations under that contract. He stated that he does not foresee this being a problem with the RCWD. Council Member Koski asked how the agreement was written with regard to the church and St. Paul Board of Water to use their property and what would happen if they decided that they wanted to back out at some point. Administrator Statz explained that the City has separate contracts with those parties that were signed before construction even began and noted that the agreements still let them back out if they see problems. He stated that he is hopeful that this public/private partnership will be done right and things will go well. Council Member Koski asked if this agreement will be looked at every (3) three years. Administrator Statz stated that the capacity of the system is just estimated and noted that when the sprinklers are fired up in a few weeks, they will know if it is too much or not enough water. He stated that once there is a year completed, they will report back in and communicate how many gallons were pumped. He stated that the Council can be proud of this system and noted that the City will save more water than the Twins ballpark. He stated that each year they will report back on how many gallons were saved. He stated that there was language added to the document that both parties can request a revision of the numbers based on trends. He stated that he wanted to make sure that the terms could be renegotiated if need be, but also with the understanding that there needs to be an end point, so they have stopped that at year three. Council Member Koski asked how a dry year would affect how many gallons are pumped. Administrator Statz agrees that it could affect things but so can a wet year, which is why they were looking at a three-year average. Motion by Council Member Lakso, seconded by Council Member Koski to Authorize Execution of the Revised Version of the Memorandum of Agreement with Rice Creek Watershed District for the LaMotte Park Stormwater Irrigation System and Downtown Redevelopment Plan, as Presented. A roll-call vote was taken. Mayor Love and Council Members King, Koski, Lakso & Mosher voted in favor. Motion carried. Page 6 of 11 City of Centerville Council Meeting Minutes April 14, 2021 IX. NEW BUSINESS 1. MS4 Permit Assistance Proposal – Stantec Administrator Statz explained that every seven (7) years the City has to renew its MS4 permit which allows operation of a stormwater system through the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. He stated that what was a 6-page application the last time it was completed, is now over 30 pages long. He stated that given the current workload among City staff, he has determined that he cannot handle this task within the deadline and has asked Stantec to give the City a proposal for completing the work. He noted that their proposal is in two parts that includes the MS4 permit application but also the whole new requirement for the TMDL studies. Council Member King stated that this has been going on for years and includes more paperwork and more money. He expressed his frustration that there has not been affirmation for how much the City has done by itself and in partnership with RCWD and the MPCA. He stated that he feels like the City is spending a lot of money it there is a lot of redundancy. Administrator Statz stated that he agreed that it is difficult not to be get cynical and reminded the Council that this is not being pushed by RCWD, but the PCA. He stated that he has been meeting with RCWD regarding the redundancy and believes they are close to having something to bring to the Council that will be at least a baby step towards eliminating some of the redundancy, which will be a positive. Council Member Koski stated that he shares some of the same frustration as Council Member King. He stated that he agrees with the concept because he does feel there is too much going into the lakes. He suggested that the City may be able to do some sort of public service campaign to educate people on things like using a different kind of fertilizer. He asked if this snuck up on the City and noted that he feels as though the City is a bit under the gun for this application. Administrator Statz agreed that it snuck up on the City a bit. He stated that usually for this type of thing the City would get it 6-8 months in advance of the deadline, which was not the case this time. He stated that he had been under the impression that he could tackle it himself and then things snowballed and got out of hand quickly, so he is raising the white flag. Council Member Koski stated that he would like to have more discussion on this going forward when there are proposals like this that involve this kind of money. He stated that he would like to see RFPs put out and see if there is a more competitively priced option. Council Member Lakso stated that she appreciates that Administrator Statz is asking for this assistance because he has a dual role as engineer and administrator. She asked about item #5 in the tasks to potentially be completed by the City. She noted that she thought the goal of this was just to put the entire thing in Stantec’s hands to finish. She stated that she thinks it should be all or nothing and Administrator Statz should not try to do more work when he is asking for help. She stated that she understands that there would be a small cost savings, but would like to see Administrator Statz’s time freed up for other duties. Administrator Statz thanked Council Member Lakso for her comments but noted that if he does Page 7 of 11 City of Centerville Council Meeting Minutes April 14, 2021 have the opportunity to complete some of the tasks, he will take them on. He stated that Stantec will bill hourly, so if there are things he can do, it will bring the cost down a bit. Council Member Mosher stated that he also had questions on #5 and whether it would be worth the possible money savings. He asked if that would be something that Public Works Director Palzer could take on. Administrator Statz explained that the plan would be that those tasks would be handled between himself and Public Works Director Palzer. Council Member Mosher asked if Stantec would provide numbers of what their findings are as well as the various measurements. Administrator Statz explained that he believes the message the PCA is sending to the cities is letting them know that in the past they were being a bit sloppy so the PCA went through and took every line of the 6-page permit application and turned it into a question. He stated that one of the things he thinks has changed are questions regarding having a written process for things rather than just letting the cities answer the question with , “Yeah, we do that.” He stated that what they will end up with is kind of a map from Stantec of how the City can get to where the PCA wants it to be. Mayor Love asked if Administrator Statz had heard from his peers that this snuck up on them as well. Administrator Statz stated that the City is not the only party that is scrambling and noted that just today RCWD sent out an e-mail that they were still looking for information from many cities to they can submit by the deadline as well. He stated that he suspects there is a route to extend the deadline, but noted that he does not want to go down that route. Mayor Love asked about the health of the Stormwater Fund that the payment for this service will be made from. Administrator Statz stated that it is not very robust. Finance Director DeJong noted that he had asked Stantec for some other breakdowns, but has not gotten those numbers yet. He stated that he has been going through the bills on the downtown project to make sure everything has been accurately applied. Administrator Statz stated that unfortunately, the City does not have much of a choice in this matter and is appropriate for the payment to come out of the Stormwater Fund. He stated that they are planning to look at this fund at the next Council meeting, so an adjustment could be made if necessary. Finance Director DeJong noted that he and Administrator Statz have also spoken about the likelihood of being able to use some of the American Recovery Act funds for stormwater purposes which they feel is a distinct possibility. Page 8 of 11 City of Centerville Council Meeting Minutes April 14, 2021 Council Member King asked how much the permit itself would cost. Administrator Statz stated that he does not know the answer to that, but will bring it back to the Council. Motion by Council Member Lakso, seconded by Council Member Mosher to Authorize Scope of Services and Fee Proposal from Stantec to Assist with MS4 and TMDL Permits Applications, as Presented. A roll-call vote was taken. Mayor Love and Council Members King, Koski, Lakso & Mosher voted in favor. Motion carried. X. COUNCIL/ADMINISTRATOR ANNOUNCEMENTS 1. Administrator’s Report Administrator Statz stated that he was not able to complete an Administrator’s Report. He noted that the City is still looking to hire 4 people for summer help but thinks the City has only received 1 application thus far. He encouraged the Council to help spread the word that they are looking for help such as college aged kids that are home for the summer and noted that the starting pay is $13.40/hour. He stated that planning meetings for Fete de Lacs have begun. The development proposals that were on the Planning Commission meeting that was disrupted by some bad actors on the Zoom call recently will be reconsidered on April 26, 2021. He asked that the Council not share the link itself to the meeting on social media and plan to direct everyone to the website and the calendar link. The back-up plan for that, if there are technical difficulties again, are that the hearing will be continued on April 28, 2021 at 5:00 p.m., in person with the Council. He stated that if this happens, he expects that the Council meeting start time will need to be pushed back. He stated that they are attempting to strike a balance between having meetings open to the public and yet keeping the meetings secure. He encouraged the Council to attend the April 26, 2021 Planning Commission meeting and noted that it has been properly noticed. He explained that it will be very helpful for them to attend because the issue will be coming right back to them on April 28, 2021. He stated that they will be able to hear the comments and discussion because it may be difficult to turn the minutes around that quickly. He noted that if the Council cannot attend the live meeting the recording will be available on North Metro T.V. Mayor Love asked if there was any information on the Lino Lakes YMCA as part of the COVID vaccine process. Administrator Statz stated that he only knows that they are a public vaccination site. Council Reports a. Lakso - i. Parks and Recreation Committee – Council Member Lakso stated that the Committee discussion the Adopt a Garden program; the Girl Scouts gave a presentation about pollinator gardens; vandalism; Park Clean-Up Day on April 24, 2021; Main Street Market plans are moving forward – Thursdays, July 8 through August 12, from 5:00 to 7:00 just before the waterski show. Page 9 of 11 City of Centerville Council Meeting Minutes April 14, 2021 Administrator Statz noted that the Parks and Recreation Committee also took a look at the banners and gave feedback to the EDA representative. He stated that the hope is that the banners will be up by Memorial Day. ii. Anoka County Fire Protection Council – No report was given. b. Koski – i. Planning & Zoning Commission – Council Member Koski reported that the April 6, 2021 meeting was cancelled and rescheduled for April 26, 2021. He encouraged participation because he feels the topics of discussion will be important for the future of the City. ii. Fire Steering Committee – Council Member Koski stated that the meeting will be held on April 15, 2021. c. King – i. Economic Development Authority – No report was given. Council Member King asked if Brandon from Stantec had reported on the condition of roads and curbs in the Downtown area associated with the street project. Administrator Statz noted that he had been out looking at private developments and taking care of the punch list items on those projects and expects that he will be following up on the downtown street project as well. d. Mosher – i. Economic Development Authority – No report was given. ii. Police Governing Board – No report was give. Council Member Mosher noted that the Annual Report from the Anoka County Sheriff’s Office was interesting. He asked if there would be a Work Session on April 28, 2021 if the Council does not need to hold the public hearing for the development projects. Administrator Statz stated that he would like to plan on holding a Work Session at 5:00 p.m. He noted that they will plan to discuss issues that would not be critical if that portion of their meeting would need to be cancelled. He explained that if things do not go well at the upcoming Planning Commission meeting, the public hearing on April 28, 2021 will be held in person. If they do go well and April 28, 2021 is just a regular Council and workshop meeting, it will be held virtually. e. Love – i. Police Governing Board – No report was given ii. Fire Steering Committee – Meeting will be held on April 15, 2021. Page 10 of 11 City of Centerville Council Meeting Minutes April 14, 2021 iii. North Metro Telecommunications Commission – Meeting will be held April 21, 2021. iv. Other Mayor Reports Mayor Love thanked the Planning and Zoning Commission members for their work and flexibility in holding a second meeting after their first meeting was disrupted. Mayor Love extended his thoughts and prayers to everyone involved in the recent incident in Brooklyn Center. XI. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Love adjourned the meeting of the regularly scheduled Council of April 14, 2021 at 8:37 p.m. Respectfully submitted by City Clerk, Teresa Bender. Page 11 of 11