2008 11-18 CC MINUTES - Laserfiche WebLink

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D) Shall the City of Gem Lake establish a Storm Water utility to help pay for stormwater projects? Mayor Emcott suggested that Gem. Lakeuse the same method of charging for Storm Water utility as VALAMO. Their plan is simple andeasy to understand. Residential is charged l unit,commercial another, and acreage is figured in. It would be billed same as sewer/water. The City of Gem Lake .has .some sewers that need cleaning out. The fine can be $10,000/dayloccurance if they start to fail.. These :.types .of projects wouldbe funded by this utility charge in the future, No votewas taken. NEW BUSINESS A) Approval of payment of claims for October -November 2008: Mayor Emeott referred the Council members to the listing of payments requiring approval. Discussion occurred around payment of a claim for the addition of pavementan a resident's driveway so water doesn't continue to run down it. This was done after review of the property by the City Engineer. Resident Bob Uzpen stated that two other properties also had issues with water and. that the city did not pay for the corrections.. Mayor Emeott stated that the proper way to determine when the city should pay for items like this wasto have the. City Engineer review it and make a judgment. Also a policy should be written for handling such. cases. City Attorney Kelly stated that consistency isimportant. Having the. City Engineer review it is fair and partial. Motion by .Rasmussen, Seconded by Artig-Swomley that the City Engineer willreview the two old claimsas well to determine if the city should reimburse the home owner for their costs was approved by voice vote, Ayes -- 5 Nays -- 0 Payment of claims for time period above was unanimously approved as indicated by Council:meinber's signatures on this document. B) Financial Report-- Sept-N.ovember.2008: Upon motion by. Schilling, seconded by Artig-Swomiey, the council approved the acceptance of the September -November 2008 Financial;RePoit, Ayes-- 5 Nays — 0 C) Citybudget suggestions (Jessie Hart): Jessie Hartpresented a memorandum to the City Council outlining a recommended 2009: budget and Levy. The certified preliminary tax levy of $473,289 which would have resulted in a tax capacity rate of 38.0604%,. hasbeen decreasedwith adjustments to the 2009.budget, to a projected tax rate of $35.5.78.8% which is a reduction of 7.816% from 2008 rate. This final budget and. Levy willbe votedan at the December16, 2.008. City Council meeting. Jessie asked that if anyone hadanychanges they wished to seeprior to. that presentation, to pleaselet her know. Council member Watson asked how we stacked up toother cities. Jessie. Hart answered this question by referring the council to page eight of her memorandum entitled Ramsey. County Local Tax Rates. Gem Lake is third behind St. Anthony and Spring Lake Park. However, North Oaks' rate is much lower as they have a homeowners association that pays for street maintenance and other services. Council member Schilling asked if the city could survive if any of the major business in the city shut down. Hart indicated that the city has about a six month reserve. D) Meeting of Canvassing Board — Elections 2008:.Mayor Emeott indicated that the City of Gem Lake had zero rejected absentee ballots. All of theballots have been brought to Ramsey County who is now in charge of all required recounts. E) Metro Council coriiments.on 2008 Comp plan — preliminary review: Mayor Emeott stated that comments have not but are expected yetthiis.week. F) City Engineer contract for 2009 (Justin Gese, SEH): Justin Gese presented a document with the updated fees for city engineer work by SEH. This contract has not been updated since.2006, Rate range willdepend on the qualifications andexperienceof the person needed to do the job. Upon motion by Schilling, seconded. by Rasmussen, thecouncil approved the acceptance of the City Engineer contract for 2009 by voice vote. Ayes — 5 Nays -- 0 G&H) City Engineer comments on 2007 (and upcoming 2008) MS4 report and Mapping of Stormwater outfalls from the:city (Justin Gese): The city of Gem Lake has asked SEH to help with. the MS4 report and mapping of stormwater outfalls as additional resources are needed to get this completed. Council member Watson 3