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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-11-18 MINUTES Cottage � Grove �here Pride and�'C°$Perity Meefi MINUTES COTTAGE GROVE CITY COUNCIL COUNCIL CHAMBER 12800 RAVINE PARKWAY SOUTH November 18, 2015 CALL TO ORDER — Mayor The City Council of the City of Cottage Grove, Washington County, Minnesota, held a regular meeting on November 18, 2015, at Cottage Grove City Hall, 12800 Ravine Parkway South. Mayor Bailey called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE The audience, staff, and Mayor and City Council Members recited the Pledge of Allegiance. ROLL CALL — City Clerk The following were present: Mayor Myron Bailey, Council Member Steve Dennis, Council Member Justin Olsen, Council Member Jen Peterson, Council Member Dave Thiede. Also present were: Charlene Stevens, City Administrator; Korine Land, City Attorney- LeVander, Gillen & Miller, PA; Les Burshten, Public Works Director; Ryan Burfeind, Project Engineer; Zac Dockter, Parks and Recreation Director; Joe Fischbach, HR Manager/City Clerk; Jennifer Levitt, Community Development Director/City Engineer; Gary Orloff, Streets Working Foreman; Robin Roland, Finance Director; Craig Woolery, Public Safety Director. OPEN FORUM Mayor Bailey asked if anyone in the audience wished to address the Council on any item that was not on the agenda. Beverly Gross, 11040-70th Street South, Cottage Grove, addressed the Council regarding the 2015 Farmers Market in Cottage Grove, which was very successful with 26 vendors. Leftover items from the market were donated to families in need. She presented a donation of$900 to Council Member Peterson for the Stone Soup Thrift Shop. As no one else wished to address the Council, Mayor Bailey closed the Open Forum. CITY OF COTTAGE GROVE . 12800 Ravine Parkway . Cottage Grove, Minnesota 55016 www.cottage-grove.org .651-458-2800 . Fax 651-458-2897 • Equal Opportunity Employer ;Cottage Gro�e City Council Nouember 18, 2015 Page 2 Mayor Bailey presided over the meeting. 1. ADOPTION OF AGENDA Motion by Council Member Olsen, second by Council Member Thiede, to adopt the agenda as presented. Motion carried: 5-0. 2. PRESENTATIONS - None. 3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. November 4, 2015 City Council Meeting minutes. Mayor Bailey and the Council Members approved the minutes as presented. 4. CONSENT CALENDAR Council Member Olsen asked to speak on Item J; he stated this item had gone through the Planning Commission and was passed unanimously. He stated the owner, AI Stewart, and his attorney have been easy to work with on this project and he thanked them for that. A. Accept and Place on File the Following Minutes: i. Planning Commission Meeting Minutes from September 28. B. Renew the Prosecution Services Contract with F. Joseph Taylor, P.A., for 2016 —2018. C. Approve the ambulance billing contract with Expert T Billing, Inc. for 2016 - 2020 and the required HIPAA Business Associate Addendum. D. Adopt Resolution 2015-113 deferring 2015 Pavement Management assessments for PIDs 15.027.21.32.0023 and 15.027.21.21.0025. E. Adopt Resolution 2015-114 authorizing call of 2009B General Obligation Water Revenue Refunding Bonds. F. Adopt Resolution 2015-115 calling a public hearing on the proposed creation of TIF District 1-16 (Garden World) G. 1. Approve the amended Developer's Agreement with Hy-Vee. 2. Approve the Developer's Agreement with Grove-Rainbow, L.P. H. Adopt Resolution 2015-116 approving the final payment to Fahrner Asphalt Sealers in the amount of$85,919.88 for the 2015 Trail & Parking Lot Seal Coating Project. I. 1. Adopt Resolution 2015-117 to accept the MN DNR Federal Recreational Trail Program grant in the amount of$150,000 to be used for improvement to the Cottage Grove Bike Park. 2. Authorize 2016 —2019 Trail Maintenance Agreement with the Minnesota Off-Road Cyclists. ;Cottage Gro�e City Councii No�ember����18, 2015 Page 3 J. Adopt Resolution 2015-118 approving a minor subdivision to create a 42,120 square-foot parcel of land; a conditional use permit to allow the expansion of a legal nonconforming use west of the existing property on Parcel ID 36.027.21.42.0003; a phased site plan for expansion onto a 6.07 acre parcel; and a variance from the minimum landscaping coverage requirements at 61 Marine & Sports, 11730 Point Douglas Drive South. K. Authorize submission of comments to Washington County in regard to Cottage Grove Ravine Regional Park. L. 1. Accept Deputy Chief Halvorsen's request to resign from the Deputy Chief position and move into the 8th Firefighter/Paramedic position, and consolidate the two current Deputy Chief positions into one position effective November 30, 2015. 2. Authorize the hiring of a 9th Firefighter/Paramedic position on January 1, 2016 contingent upon approval of the 2016 final budget on December 2, 2015. M. Adopt Resolution 2015-119 authorizing the preparation of plans and specifications for the CP Rail Water Main Improvement Project. Motion by Council Member Thiede, second by Council Member Peterson, to approve the Consent Calendar. Motion carried: 5-0. 5. RESPONSE TO PREVIOUSLY RAISED OPEN FORUM ISSUES — None. 6. PUBLIC HEARINGS - None. 7. BID AWARDS — None. 8. UNFINISHED AND NEW BUSINESS A. Consider adopting a resolution calling a public hearing for December 16, 2015 for the purpose of issuing Tax Abatement Bonds, and consider adopting a resolution calling for the sale of$4,935,000 General Obligation (G.O.) Refunding Bonds Series 2016A. Director Roland stated in 2008 the EDA had issued $6,500,000 of Lease Revenue Bonds to finance an addition to the City's Ice Arena. The bonds are eligible to be refinanced and are eligible to be called as of April 1, 2016. The possibility of issuing Tax Abatement Bonds was discussed. Shelly Eldridge from Ehlers &Associates was also present to explain those bonds. Director Roland stated if the City issued the Abatement Bonds and used them to refund not only the Ice Arena Bonds but also some Sanitary Sewer Bonds that could be called to save the City some money in debt service over the next 10-15 years, the Abatement Bonds would actually be issued and pay off the Lease Revenue Bonds so, in effect, the EDA would no longer own the Ice Arena and the City would. In doing the Abatement Bond, the City would be able to save (between the two) an estimated $900,000 over the course of the next ten years in debt service payments. There has to be a public hearing at ;Cottage Grove City Counci� Nouernber 18, 2015 Page 4 the next Council Meeting, and that's what they're asking the Council to approve this evening, as well as to approve the sale date of January 6, 2016. Shelly Eldridge stated Abatement Bonds are a General Obligation of the City, which means that they'd be backed by the full faith and credit of the City. Basically, the City is pledging specific taxes collected on selected parcels to pay the debt service versus doing an annual apportionment levy. The City would be taking City taxes only and using those to pay the debt service; by doing so, the City would save $900,000. There were 11 parcels targeted that add up to the amount that the City would need every year; those City taxes would be pledged to pay the debt service. Council Members asked questions of Ms. Eldridge regarding flexibility with the bonds, if she had any concerns regarding the bond rating as the City moved forward with the process, and if they should be concerned with the recent volatility in the bond market. Ms. Eldridge advised the City had a limit on how many tax abatements they could do, which is a certain percentage of the tax capacity, and this would be about one-third of that. The market looks at Lease Revenue Bonds as riskier than General Obligation Bonds. If things are stable with the City, she wouldn't anticipate any pressure regarding the City's bond rating. Ms. Eldridge stated that generally the municipal market is not as volatile as the stock market or even treasuries. The other option the City had on the day of sale would be to reject all the bids and go back when the market was better. Motion by Council Member Thiede to adopt Resolution 2015-120 calling for a public hearing to issue Tax Abatement Bonds on December 16, 2015; second by Council Member Olsen. Motion carried: 5-0. Motion by Council Member Olsen to adopt Resolution 2015-121 calling for the sale of$4,935,000 in General Obligation (G.O.) Refunding Bonds Series 2016A; second by Council Member Peterson. Motion carried: 5-0. 9. RESPONSE TO PREVIOUSLY RAISED COUNCIL COMMENTS AND REQUEST� — None. 10. COUNCIL COMMENTS AND REQUESTS Council Member Dennis stated there had been a number of vehicles tampered with and/or broken into throughout the City. He stated citizens should lock vehicle doors and windows completely, keep valuable items out of view, consider purchasing a vehicle alarm system, park where lighting and sight lines are good to improve visibility, and remove garage door openers Cottage Grove City Council Nouernber 18, 2015 Page 5 from vehicles anytime vehicles were left outside. Also, install deadbolt locks on homes, remove vegetation from areas of windows and doors (which improve concealment), and add motion-sensor equipped exterior lighting. If anything suspicious is seen, contact the police. Council Member Peterson stated Beyond the Yellow Ribbon Burger & Brat Night will be on November 19 at the Cottage Grove VFW. Council Member Peterson stated the next Fare-For-All will take place on December 10, the same date as the Holiday Train, at All Saints Lutheran Church, but it will be held earlier, from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. Council Member Peterson stated the Red Rock Corridor Commission is currently in the process of learning people's thoughts on two proposed routes for the BRT along the Highway 61 corridor. Go to www.redrockcorridor.com and take the survey and share your thoughts. The next meeting will be Wednesday, December 2, at the Newport City Hall. Council Member Thiede stated that entries for the Strawberry Fest logo contest are due December 7, so he encouraged citizens to turn in their entries. Mayor Bailey stated on November 22 there would be a number of people bagging groceries at Cub Foods, including the Council Members, and they will accept donations for the Holiday Train and the Friends in Need Food Shelf. Mayor Bailey will also be selling SuperMom's Bakery bread, blueberry and cranberry walnut, for $5 a loaf, so interested citizens can contact him at mbailevCa?cotta.c�e-grove.orq or call him at 459-4734 to make arrangements. Mayor Bailey said the Holiday Tree Lighting will take place at the next City Council Meeting on December 2; Santa Claus will arrive on a fire truck. Treats will be provided inside City Hall, and children can visit with Santa Claus. Mayor Bailey stated the Winter Lights Contest nominations are due on November 30; judging will take place on December 1. . Mayor Bailey stated the Holiday Train will arrive on Thursday, December 10; he encouraged all citizens to be present and show their support. It's also a fundraiser for the Friends in Need Food Shelf; cash and food items will be collected. Mayor Bailey stated there will be two pancake breakfasts on Sunday, December 6. The first is the Lions Santa Breakfast at the Cottage Grove VFW and the second is at St. Rita's Church, which is a Holiday Train fundraiser. ;Cottage Groue City Council z November'18, 2015 _ Page 6, 11. PAY BILLS Motion by Council Member Thiede, second by Council Member Olsen, to approve payment of check numbers 193808 to 193993 in the amount of $297,639.37 and EFT Payment of$49,171.91. Motion carried: 5-0. 12. WORKSHOP SESSION — OPEN TO PUBLIC A. 2016 Pavement Management Project. Engineer BurFeind stated the areas they were looking at for the 2016 Pavement Management Project were: Districts F3 and F5, generally south and west of Keats Avenue and 80th Street; District D2, by Hadley Avenue and 95th Street; and 80th Street between Jamaica Avenue and Ideal Avenue. There had been an emergency repair done in the spring of 2014 in Districts F3 and F5, as the stripping had expanded rapidly and there was so much deterioration something had to be done to hold it together until this proposed project. Core pavement samples (16) were taken to determine the existing pavement thickness; the overall pavement thickness was 4 to 4.5 inches, but in other areas it was only 2 inches. Spot curb replacements need to be done in some areas; however, other areas will require full curb replacement. They are proposing full replacement of streetlight wire with new wire and conduit. There is a sanitary sewer line that has severe root intrusions, which will be taken care of and they will clear the trees in the drainage utility easement; they also anticipate the need to align that pipe to prevent future root intrusions. The streetlight system will be included in the assessment, although the sanitary sewer system will not. Mayor Bailey asked Engineer Levitt who inspected manhole covers to make sure they're brought to proper standards; Engineer Levitt stated they could follow up with Washington County staff regarding their tolerance and specifications for that. Council Member Thiede wondered if there was a way to track maintenance costs associated with pavement management projects. He was informed that in 2014 they began keeping track of maintenance needed on streets, as far as tonnage, in a software program. Engineer Burfeind stated 80th Street would have full pavement replacement and spot curb replacement; the bituminous trails along 80th Street would also be replaced. They are anticipating MSA funding for the 80th Street project. Properties would be assessed; however, the Special Benefit Appraisal will govern and will bring the assessments down. Improvements are proposed to Oakwood Park (realigning the entrance to the park) as part of this project. The hotel development on the site north of Ruby Tuesday's will include reconstructing the parking lot with curb and ;Cottage Grove City Councii November 18, 201� Page 7 gutter, as well as water and sanitary sewer services into the park; the initial cost estimate for that is approximately $360,000. The total project cost is just over $6,600,000. There is a neighborhood meeting scheduled for December 8 at the Cottage Grove Middle School. They will receive the feasibility report on December 16. On January 6, they will hold a public improvement hearing, and if the project moves ahead, construction will begin in the summer of 2016. Engineer Levitt stated the letters would go out to the residents on Friday with their proposed assessment amounts. The feasibility report would be presented to the Council at a future Council Meeting. 13. WORKSHOP SESSION — CLOSED TO PUBLIC — None. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Council Member Olsen, second by Council Member Peterson, to adjourn the regular meeting at 8:10 p.m. Motion carried: 5-0. Minutes prepared by Judy Graf and reviewed by HR Manager/City Clerk Joe Fischbach.