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Home My WebLink About2021 05-18 CC MinutesCity of Gem Lake City Council Meeting Minutes May 18, 2021 1 | Page City of Gem Lake City Council Meeting – May 18, 2021 Meeting Minutes Mayor Artig-Swomley called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Councilmembers Amlee, Cacioppo, Lindner and Johnson were present. Also present: City Treasurer Tom Kelly, Planning and Zoning Tom Riedesel, City Engineer Justin Gese, Acting City Attorney Martin Norder, Planning Commission members Don Cummings, Joshua Patrick, Summit Farm Lane HOA Board President Sharon Roland, White Bear Emergency Food Shelf Executive Director Perry Petersen, Residents Jim Wilson, Dave Wood, Paul Emeott, Dan Meysembourg, Nick Cress, Rick Bosak and Isaac Nelson. May 18, 2021, Agenda A motion was made by Councilmember Lindner, seconded by Councilmember Cacioppo to approve the agenda. Voice vote taken, all voted yes, motion passes, agenda approved. Minutes A motion was made by Councilmember Lindner, seconded by Councilmember Cacioppo to approve the April 20, 2021, City Council Meeting Minutes. Voice vote taken, all voted yes, motion passes, minutes approved. A motion was made by Councilmember Cacioppo, seconded by Councilmember Lindner to approve the May 4, 2021, Planning Commission Meeting Minutes. Voice vote taken, all voted yes, motion passes, minutes approved. A motion was made by Councilmember Lindner, seconded by Councilmember Cacioppo to approve the May 10, 2021, City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes. Voice vote was taken, all voted yes, motion passes, minutes approved. Committee Reports – Planning Commission Acting Planning Commission Chairman Cummings gave an overview of the Planning Commission Meeting on May 4, 2021. The Commission is currently still reviewing the Home Occupation Ordinance and fine tuning it and will have it ready for recommendation at the next meeting. Commission Chairman Cummings stated that there will be three (3) public hearings at the next Planning Commission Meeting that they will be hearing regarding urban gardening, fence height, setbacks and zoning. Commission Chairman Cummings also stated that they will be returning to live meetings starting with their next meeting on June 1, 2021. Old Business Mayor Artig-Swomley presented ideas for the next Newsletter to include pieces on the White Bear Lake Emergency Food Shelf, Hoffman Road Construction, City Clerk becoming a Notary, results of the June 1 Public Hearings, Tree Trust and deer hunting. Mayor Artig-Swomley asked the councilmembers for ideas and Councilmember Lindner presented ideas about MS4 storm water and Councilmember Johnson presented an idea about a piece on decriminalizing mental health issues and services, based on a program sponsored by the City of Maplewood. City of Gem Lake City Council Meeting Minutes May 18, 2021 2 | Page New Business Elimination of Mask Mandate – per Governors Order as of May 14, 2021 Mayor Artig-Swomley asked for a motion to rescind the mask mandate put in to effect by the City of Gem Lake in July 2020. Councilmember Lindner motioned to rescind the mask mandate, seconded by Councilmember Cacioppo. Voice vote taken, all voted yes, motion passes, the mask mandate is now rescinded for the City of Gem Lake. This action would put the city in sync with the Governor’s order of May 14, 2021. White Bear Lake Emergency Food Shelf Presentation – Perry Petersen Mr. Petersen shared information about the food shelf with the City Council and members in attendance. Mr. Petersen presented everyone with a handout and spoke about how the pandemic affected the community and what the Food Shelf was able to do to help. Numbers rose from about 30 visits a day to 120 visits a day, but the numbers are beginning to stabilize. Mayor Artig-Swomley asked if donations from residential gardens were acceptable and Mr. Petersen said they were. Councilmember Cacioppo asked what qualified the food as rescued, Mr. Petersen responded that any item that is overstocked or close to expiration is what qualifies. Councilmember Johnson asked where we can find a list of items needed, Mr. Petersen said that the list can be found on the website www.whitebearfoodshelf.org. Proposed Donation Mayor Artig-Swomley proposed a donation of $1000.00 to the White Bear Lake Emergency Food Shelf from the City’s charitable gambling funds. Councilmember Lindner made a motion to approve the donation, seconded by Councilmember Cacioppo. Voice vote taken, all voted yes, motion passes, donation approved. Gem Lake Infrastructure Issues Gem Lake Villas Water System Report and Discussion – Tom Kelly Mr. Kelly went through and described the two categories of Fund Accounting, Depreciation Estimates and then presented the past year rates and activity. Based on the past years activity new rates were proposed for the Villas of Gem Lake and compared to the current rates. Current Rates Proposed Rates Water: Base $90.00 $55.00 Volume: 1-15,000 $2.50 $8.10 15,001-25,000 $4.50 $10.15 Over 25,001 $7.75 $12.75 Irrigation: Base $1,700.00 $55.00 Volume per 1,000 gallons $10.69 $10.75 Current Rates Proposed Rates Sewer: Base $50.00 $55.00 Volume: $24.50 $10.00 City of Gem Lake City Council Meeting Minutes May 18, 2021 3 | Page Mayor Artig-Swomley stated that we have an action plan and we are going to go back to the City of Vadnais Heights and talk about the tiered billing system. It was suggested that the City Clerk hold off on sending all bills out until we receive the bill from Vadnais Heights. The City Clerk will also ensure readings are taken from the main meter first, then the houses and then irrigation. Councilmember Lindner has been appointed to be the one to continue to help “build bridges” with Vadnais Heights. Approval of Resolution 2021-005 – Acceptance of 2021 Sewer and Water Rates for the Villas of Gem Lake A motion to approve the acceptance of the 2021 sewer and water rates for the Villas of Gem Lake was made by Councilmember Lindner, seconded by Councilmember Cacioppo. Voice vote taken, all voted yes, motion passes. Approval of Resolution 2021-005 Acceptance of 2021 sewer and water rates for the Villas of Gem Lake approved effective April 1, 2021. Hoffman Road Update – Justin Gese, City Engineer Mr. Gese reported that SEH has received the signed contracts back and as of right now there is no scheduled start date for the project. Once they start they will have 30 days to complete the project. Gem Lake Villas Update – Justin Gese, City Engineer Mr. Gese said that they are still waiting on a couple more things to be taken care of such as trees and the water shed district, all of which should be handled in the next couple of weeks. City Clerk is also in the process of ordering a “No Outlet” Sign for the Villas to be put up. Scheuneman Road Update – Justin Gese, City Engineer Mr. Gese said that they are still waiting on some things but that they have been doing some computer modeling. Once that is completed they will be ready to present to the council. Tree Trust Report – Councilmember Cacioppo Councilmember Cacioppo gave an overview of why we are being given the trees for our public land. We have gotten a proposal for where the trees should go on the South side, still waiting on the North side. The City of Gem Lake has roughly 72 trees for the South side and roughly 72 trees for the North side. Plans are to plant in June. The tree trust will assume all costs. Heritage Hall Electrical Repair Part One/Proposed Part Two Electrical repair phase one was getting the lights working in the office, which was completed. Phase two is to get the other lights throughout the building up to code. Councilmember Lindner received a bid letter from NEI Electric for a total base bid of $3,854.00 which will cover (1) front entry light, (6) lobby lights, (6) Council Chamber lights, (8) women’s restroom lights and (5) men’s restroom lights. Councilmember Lindner made a motion to approve the bid from NEI Electric, seconded by Councilmember Cacioppo. Voice vote taken, all voted yes, motion passes, total base bid for NEI Electric of $3,854.00 approved. Purchased Items/Interior Changes Mayor Artig-Swomley noted all of the items that have been bought for Heritage Hall such as a new microwave, refrigerator and coffee maker. Mayor Artig-Swomley also asked for donations to the building such as pictures and tables. Mayor Artig-Swomley presented a bid for getting the carpets and tile cleaned at Heritage Hall from Stanley Steemer. Councilmember Lindner made a motion to approve the cleaning of both the carpet and tile, seconded by Councilmember City of Gem Lake City Council Meeting Minutes May 18, 2021 4 | Page Cacioppo. Voice vote taken, all voted yes, motion passes, carpet cleaning by Stanley Steemer approved. Proposed Plumbing Change Councilmember Lindner had a company come in and look at our current plumbing for the bathrooms and drinking fountains. The quote will be available for the June City Council Meeting to discuss. Covid-19 funds may be available to use for these upgrades. Parking Lot/Other Councilmember Lindner noted that he checked all the emergency lights in the building and only one currently works. Councilmember Lindner will work on getting an estimate to either replace the whole fixture or just the battery packs. Mayor Artig-Swomley noted that the speed bumps have been taken out since the last city council meeting and it was completed at the lower bid. Internal Management Update City Clerk has finished formatting the employee manual and it was distributed at tonight’s meeting. City Clerk has been working on creating forms that we do not have in the office, but state that we offer online. City Clerk has been creating a folder of all historical pictures and documents that come in to the office for future use. City clerk has sent in the paperwork to join the Municipal Clerks and Finance Officers Association of Minnesota (MCFOA) and will go to the first class in 2022 because the deadline for this year was missed. City Clerk is in the process of updating the website where needed and is working on adding more ordinances to the website and streamlining them so they are all searchable documents. Home Business Occupation Discussion A public hearing will be scheduled for July to discuss the Home Occupation Ordinance. Deer Hunting Discussion / Workshop Report May 10 A public hearing will be scheduled in July or August to propose changes to the ordinance. CUP / IUP Fee Modification Mayor Artig-Swomley made mention that although we did approve removing the escrow from the CUP, IUP and Variance applications, it was not mentioned that for the CUP and IUP applications that the escrow fee will now be combined with the application fee. The total to apply for a CUP or IUP will now cost $275.00 to cover the review time. Councilmember Cacioppo made a motion to approve the combining of the application fee and escrow into one lump sum, seconded by Councilmember Lindner. Voice vote taken, all voted yes, motion passes, fees are now combined to total $275.00 non-refundable fee. LMC Liability Coverage – Waiver Form In the case that someone tries to sue the City, the LMC Liability coverage helps us set limits. Councilmember Lindner made a motion to accept the LMC Liability Coverage suggested by the League on their form, seconded by Councilmember Cacioppo. Voice vote taken, all voted yes, motion passes, LMC Liability Coverage approved. Community Outreach Mayor Artig-Swomley stated that we are in the process of building bridges with our surrounding cities. City Clerk has been assigned to work with the Ramsey County Election Board, Councilmember Amlee has been assigned to work with Rush Line, Councilmember Lindner has been assigned to work with the City of Vadnais Heights, Councilmember Cacioppo has been assigned to work with the Ramsey County Sheriff Department and Mayor Artig-Swomley has been assigned to work with White Bear Lake, White City of Gem Lake City Council Meeting Minutes May 18, 2021 5 | Page Bear Township and team up with Councilmember Cacioppo working with the Ramsey County Sheriff Department. Claims Councilmember Lindner mare a motion to pay the bills, seconded by Councilmember Cacioppo. Voice vote taken, all voted yes, motion passes, bills will be paid. Monthly Financial Reports No questions from City Council Presentations from the public, 2 minutes maximum Mr. Emeott asked when street sweeping would take place, Mayor Artig-Swomley responded that we are working on getting it set up. Mr. Emeott also inquired about whether or not water/sewer rates were going to be going up for all other residents if they will be changing at the Villas, Mr. Kelly responded that they will be staying the same flat rate at this time. Mr. Meysembourg introduced himself and spoke about wanting to start a veganic farm on his property and that he will be the one that the public hearings are about at the next Planning Commission Meeting on June 1, 2021. Open Items for Council Members to Bring Up Mayor Artig-Swomley brought up some things that will be listed on the June agenda. Mayor Artig- Swomley stated that we will need to form a committee to help maintain the public space and should being looking for volunteers. Future Council Meetings City Council, Tuesday June 15, 2021, Workshop, Monday June 14, 2021 Canceled. Adjournment Being there no further business, following a motion from Councilmember Lindner, seconded by Councilmember Johnson, the meeting adjourned at 9:06 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Melissa Lawrence