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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes i� ��tJV� �ri°t � y � ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... ���� �ri e ar�d PC�� t MINUTES COTTAGE GROVE CITY COUNCIL October 19, 2016 COUNCIL CHAMBER 12800 RAVINE PARKWAY SOUTH REGULAR MEETING - 7:00 P.M. 1. CALL TO ORDER The City Council of the City of Cottage Grove, Washington County, Minnesota, held a regular meeting on October 19, 2016 at Cottage Grove City Hall, 12800 Ravine Parkway. Mayor Bailey called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. 2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE The audience, staff, and Mayor and City Council Members recited the Pledge of Allegiance. 3. ROLL CALL 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; Karla Bigham, County Commissioner; Les Burshten, Public Works Director; Joe Fischbach, HR Manager/City Clerk; Jennifer Levitt, Community Development Director/City Engineer; Sharon Madsen, Communications Coordinator; Robin Roland, Finance Director; Pete Koerner, Police Captain. 4. OPEN FORUM Mayor Bailey asked if anyone in the audience wished to address the Council on any item that was not on the agenda. As no one wished to address the Council, Mayor Bailey closed the Open Forum. 5. ADOPTION OF AGENDA Mayor Bailey stated that before anyone made a motion to approve the agenda they were going to be pulling Items L and M off of the Consent Agenda, as they were going to do a workshop on those Items at the next Council Meeting. 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 City Council Meeting Minutes October 19, 2016 Page 2 Motion by Council Member Olsen, second by Council Member Thiede, to adopt the agenda. Motion carried: 5-0. 6. PRESENTATIONS A. Eagle Scout Awards for Troop 777 — Nathan Fischer, Travis Smith, and Steven Zaspel Mayor Bailey and the Council Members invited the Eagle Scouts to come forward. Mayor Bailey stated they love to see youth giving back to the community, and he mentioned there's a plaque in City Hall that contains their names. Each of them was presented with their plaque. Mayor Bailey then invited each of them to speak about their Eagle Scout project: -Steven Zaspel worked at the Carpenter Nature Center, removing black walnut and ash trees that had invasive species; then, some more trees were planted. -Travis Smith installed two lanes of horseshoes at Arbor Meadows Park so the community members could have some fun. -Nathan Fischer built two life-size mangers for Presbyterian Homes of Bloomington for their nativity scenes. Mayor Bailey and the Council Members congratulated them and thanked them for their work. B. Thrivent Financial Donation to Inclusive Playground Accept donation from Thrivent Financial in the amount of$17,687 to be used for the construction of the inclusive playground. Mayor Bailey stated Thrivent Financial had put together a community walk to help raise funds for the inclusive playground project; he stated the City's now at about 72% of the total money needed for the project. Arlene Myers and Dan Myers of Thrivent Financial stated it was their pleasure to work with the City of Cottage Grove, specifically with Molly Pietruszewski, and support projects within the community. Molly was thanked for all of her help. They stated they were thrilled to be able to help out the community with this project. Mayor Bailey stated Thrivent Financial had presented a check to Molly in the amount of$17,687; he thanked Thrivent for their continued support and asked Molly to speak about the inclusive playground. Molly reviewed the inclusive playground plans and stated it's accessible to all people. She stated they still need to raise $202,000 in order to build the playground in 2017. Mayor Bailey stated many groups are now making contributions, as are individuals, and he encouraged businesses to also contribute. Mayor Bailey stated they're working on another, yet unnamed, project for 2017, and Thrivent will again support that project. Mayor Bailey again thanked Thrivent for their support of the community. City Council Meeting Minutes October 19, 2016 Page 3 C. Bus Rapid Transit Draft Implementation Plan Presentation by Washington County County Commissioner Karla Bigham introduced Hally Turner, a Washington County Planner, and also recognized Council Member Peterson, who is Vice Chair of the Red Rock Corridor Commission. Commissioner Bigham stated on October 26 there will be a public hearing in Newport to vote on the implementation plan. They wanted to reach out and see if there were any questions or comments and to also keep the City informed. Planner Turner stated in early 2016 they had previously discussed a couple of route options for the Red Rock Corridor, a 30-mile transit way running along Highway 61 between Hastings and the Union Depot. Planner Turner stated they ultimately finalized the route and added a station in St. Paul Park. The Red Rock Corridor starts at the Union Depot in St. Paul, stops at three Gateway Corridor stations in St. Paul, and then it goes down Highway 61 to Lower Afton Road. It will continue on to Newport, then to St. Paul Park. In Cottage Grove, it will stop at the 80th Street Station on the east side of Highway 61, continue along East Point Douglas Road to Jamaica Avenue, before it continues on to the Hastings depot. The last two stops in Hastings have yet to be determined. They looked at four potential Bus Rapid Transit phases, which she delineated. Every service would operate approximately every 15 minutes during the day and every 30 minutes in the evening; the span of service will be approximately 5:00 a.m. to midnight, which is similar to many other services in the metro area. Planner Turner reviewed the routes, estimated ridership, in-service hours, and daily boarding numbers, which give an idea of average passengers on the service each hour. That led them to see the ridership is not what they expected it would be. They still need to increase expected ridership by 33% to reach the minimum regional performance for Bus Rapid Transit. Because there will be a phased implementation, it's unclear how they can get funding for capital costs because they'd have a difficult time qualifying for federal money, so they need to get creative for funding options. They can use regular route transit service to help monitor when they can implement Bus Rapid Transit. They are advocating for an all-day transit service between Union Depot and Cottage Grove; if funded through the regional solicitation process, the first year of operations would be 2020, for a three-year demonstration. She reviewed the recommendations: Work with Metro Transit, following the recommended route for Bus Rapid Transit; Maintain existing express service; Work with corridor Cities and Counties to update confidence of plans. For the years 2020 to 2040, the recommendations are: Implement Comprehensive Plans; Monitor ridership on Bus Rapid Transit; Assess Comprehensive Plans; Replace Route 363 with Bus Rapid Transit service when they hit 25 passengers per in-service hour; and Explore options to extend Bus Rapid Transit to Hastings when their performance exceeds 450 passengers per day. City Council Meeting Minutes October 19, 2016 Page 4 Planner Turner stated there is an open house on October 26 at 5:30; the public hearing is at 6:30, which will be held in conjunction with the Red Rock Corridor Commission Meeting. If they deem fit to approve the document, based on public input, they will look to have resolutions of support through the end of the year. She asked if there were any questions. Mayor Bailey asked if their intent was to build the two stops in Cottage Grove or do the stops without the infrastructure there and expected ridership from St. Paul to Cottage Grove and if the business park employees were included in that. Planner Turner stated they would look for other opportunities to find funding for infrastructure for the souped- up stops that would be Bus Rapid Transit. She hoped with the next legislative session that they'd have a clear path forward with transportation funding. She stated the business park employees were included in the expected ridership. Council Member Olsen stated he felt the Red Rock Corridor project was critical and the citizens needed to be informed; he asked how they planned to really get people to understand what Bus Rapid Transit was all about. Planner Turner stated they will use local media, community festivals, social media, open forums, and open houses. They'll also meet with businesses in the community. Council Member Thiede asked with all other transportation services available, what kind of collaboration had been looked at with other services. Planner Turner stated they had to stop a little bit short of having specific conversations with other organizations because they have to be transit first, so the local bus service is what they're working with first. After that, they can look at opportunities for shuttle services (first mile-last mile connections). They'd also focused on pedestrian and bike connections. 7. CONSENT AGENDA A. Approve the July 27, 2016 City Council Special Meeting Minutes. B. Approve the August 3, 2016 City Council Special Meeting Minutes. C. Approve the September 21, 2016 City Council Special Meeting Minutes. D. Approve the September 21, 2016, City Council Regular Meeting Minutes. E. Receive and place on file the approved minutes for the Arts Commission meeting on September 6, 2016. F. Accept and place on file the August 15, 2016 Public Services Commission meeting minutes. G. Accept the approved minutes for the May 10, 2016, and July 12, 2016, meetings of the Advisory Committee on Historic Preservation. H. Authorize Public Works to advertise and sell surplus property on Cranky Ape. I. Adopt Resolution 2016-159 awarding the contract for the Well No. 4 Maintenance Project to E.H. Renner & Sons, Inc. in the amount of $31,196.00. J. Adopt Resolution 2016-160 accepting donations received between July 1 and September 30, 2016. City Council Meeting Minutes October 19, 2016 Page 5 K. Approve Change Order No. 1 in the value of a $4,974.05 reduction and accept the contribution from WSB in the value of$6,225.95 for the 80th Street Quadrant Project. L. Item Removed M. Item Removed N. Accept donation of a banner from Hohenstein's Wholesale Beer Company to The Eagles at River Oaks, valued at $100.00. O. Authorize the purchase of tables and chairs from BizChair.com/Belnick, Inc. in the amount of$4,187.21 for The Eagles Bar and Grill. P. 1. Approve the RiverTown Multimedia Advertising Plan for the Eagles Bar and Grill as outlined at a total cost of$1,926.00. 2. Authorize Acting General Manager Dennis to oversee traditional marketing and electronic media communications for The Eagles Bar and Grill. Q. Adopt Resolution 2016-164 authorizing an amendment to the development agreement for the plat of Summers Landing. Council Member Olsen wished to pull Item J and Council Member Dennis wished to pull Item N for further discussion and/or comment. Council Member Dennis stated he wished to recognize the Hohenstein's Company for donating a banner for The Eagles at River Oaks; he stated it was 10' x 3' and Public Works was going to help get that put up. That will hopefully direct the public to the establishment. Council Member Olsen wanted to recognize and thank the individuals and organizations who made donations to the City of Cottage Grove in the 3rd quarter: $500 from Deputy Fire Chief/Fire Marshal P.J. McMahon, Jr., for the inclusive playground; $200 from the Cottage Grove Crime Prevention Board for a pet microchip reader; $17,687 from Thrivent Financial for the inclusive playground; $100 from Lonnie & Lois Stolte for the inclusive playground; $50 from Gayle & John Brunkow for the inclusive playground; $50 from Spartan Promotional for the inclusive playground. Motion by Council Member Thiede to approve the Consent Agenda, second by Council Member Peterson. Motion carried: 5-0. 8. APPROVE DISBURSEMENTS A. Approve payment of check numbers 198224 to 198443 in the amount of $1,822,439.79 and EFT Payment of$642,508.68. Motion to approve disbursements by Council Member Olsen, second by Council Member Thiede. Motion carried: 5-0. 9. PUBLIC HEARINGS City Council Meeting Minutes October 19, 2016 Page 6 A. Part 2 Wellhead Protection Plan — Public Hearing Approve submittal of the Part 2 Wellhead Protection Plan to the Minnesota Department of Health for final review and approval, assuming no comments are received during the public hearing that require revisions to the plan. City Engineer Jennifer Levitt introduced Mark Janovec, with Stantec, to review the Part 2 Wellhead Protection Plan. Mr. Janovec stated the purpose of wellhead protection planning is to protect the groundwater supplies that provide the drinking water for the community. The program was enacted by the EPA and is overseen by the Minnesota Department of Health. All cities that have groundwater wells have to go through this process: Identify the source of the water that feeds each of the wells; identify how vulnerable that aquifer is and how vulnerable the well is; identify the sources of contamination that could impact the aquifer; establish goals for protecting the water supply system; create action items to mitigate those risks; and create an implementation plan, which must be updated every 10 years. This is the City of Cottage Grove's first update. The Part 2 Wellhead Protection Plan is the management plan. It will be submitted to the Department of Health for review and approval, and the plan implementation should begin in 2017; the due date for Cottage Grove is actually March, 2017. There are 11 wells in Cottage Grove; he reviewed the map of the wells. State Code requires that any unused wells need to be sealed or at least have a maintenance permit to be kept open. The main goals of the Plan are to maintain the water quality and quantity, increase public awareness, and prevent increases in contamination levels that already exist within the aquifer. They identified 19 storage sites (both above ground and underground), as well as 38 septic systems within the Wellhead management area. Septic systems could be a source of contamination for the aquifer. He stated the goal is to prevent spills and leaks; unfortunately, there have been 18 documented spills and leaks that have already occurred and are within the management area. However, 10 of those sites are now listed as inactive, so they've been closed by the MPCA. There are 8 active sites, including the 3M Woodbury landfill. They work with the MPCA to make sure that the cleanup and monitoring of those sites is ongoing and protects the public water supplies; they also work with the Minnesota Department of Health with ongoing PFC monitoring efforts. Mr. Janovec stated he'd be happy to answer any questions. Council Member Olsen stated there are some City wells that are potentially at risk for PFC contamination; he asked what the right approach is relating to sentinel wells for protecting those municipal wells, as there are sentinel wells located by the landfill site, though not near the City wells. He asked where the City stood on that issue. Mr. Janovec stated the City's in pretty close communication with the Department of Health on the PFC monitoring effort. There are sentinel wells out there that are not specifically designed to be but act as that because they are also regularly monitored. The sentinel wells are more for the contaminated sites, such as 3M Woodbury landfill, where maybe there aren't wells closer to the City wells, so the idea is to have an extra layer of City Council Meeting Minutes October 19, 2016 Page 7 protection for the City wells. They could look at the need for some PFC monitoring wells, as there's grant money available to get sentinel monitoring wells if they see a need. Council Member Olsen stated he was disappointed with the response from the Department of Health and the MPCA regarding their responsiveness to the City's needs. Mr. Janovec stated the City would be able to control and sample their sentinel well at the frequency we wished, and that opportunity is there if the City wished to pursue it. Mayor Bailey opened the public hearing and asked if anyone wished to address the Council on this issue. As no one wished to address the Council, Mayor Bailey closed the public hearing. Motion by Council Member Olsen to approve submittal of the Part 2 Wellhead Protection Plan to the Minnesota Department of Health for final review and approval, second by Council Member Thiede. Motion carried: 5-0. 10. BID AWARDS — None. 11. REGULAR AGENDA A. General Obligation Improvement Bonds Series 2016B Finance Director Robin Roland introduced Shelly Eldridge of Ehlers & Associates, who had the result of today's bond sale. Director Roland stated these bonds will pay for the 2016 and 2017 Pavement Management projects. The 2016 portion is a reimbursement to the City for the costs that we've already expended and is starter cash for the 2017 Pavement Management project, which was ordered this fall. Ms. Eldridge stated she had good news to share. She stated the bond average has been going up since the September 21, 2016, presale report was presented; it's gone up almost 1%. The results received on the bids on the bonds that were taken today were better than what had been estimated. In Minnesota, and specifically Cottage Grove, there are many people who want to invest in the City and the City's bonds. City Administrator Stevens and Director Roland had a discussion with Standard & Poor's, and there was a report issued. The things the City has control over in Standard & Poor's report are generally `very strong' and `strong'; those include finances and liquidity, which goes to the City's rating. The City maintained the AA+ rating and it's stable; she congratulated the Mayor and Council on that and felt it was reflected in the results of the sale. There were six bids received from across the country; two from Minnesota, one from Wisconsin, one from Alabama, and two from Tennessee. Again, there's been national interest in the City's bonds. The low bidder was FTN Financial Capital Markets, out of Memphis, Tennessee, with a true interest cost of$1,079,444 for a 16-year return. There was a $97,920 premium given to the City; so, between that and the underwriters taking less of a discount, which is points on the mortgage, about $20,000 less, they were able to drop the par amount by $125,000. So, the bonds that City Council Meeting Minutes October 19, 2016 Page 8 are going to be issued, instead of$4,400,000 will be $4,275,000, which translates into just under $120,000 less in interest over the life of the bond. Mayor Bailey congratulated Director Roland and her team and the City as a whole for truly managing the expenses very carefully and conservatively. He felt people recognize the City manages the taxpayer dollar extremely carefully. Ms. Eldridge stated there was pretty fair bidding in the first three or four bids. Council Member Thiede asked which states had made the next bids; Ms. Eldridge stated the second and third bids were both out of Minnesota. Motion by Council Member Olsen to Adopt Resolution 2016-161 awarding sale of $4,275,000 General Obligation Improvement Bonds Series 2016B to the appropriate bidder, which is FTN Financial Capital Markets, out of Memphis, Tennessee, second by Council Member Dennis. Motion carried: 5-0. 12. COUNCIL COMMENTS AND REQUESTS Council Member Dennis stated the Masonic Acacia Lodge #51, 11094 70th Street, will have a tremendous spaghetti dinner; it will take place on October 22 and tickets will be sold at the door. All of the proceeds from the spaghetti dinner go to charity. Council Member Thiede stated the Monster Bash Parade will take place on October 29, starting at 10:00 a.m., and will go from the District Service Center to the District Program Center. Mayor Bailey stated the Afton Apple Orchard will be doing a benefit for the Cottage Grove Fire, EMS, and Police Department this weekend; he encouraged everyone to attend and show their support. He thanked Afton Apple for their contributions. Mayor Bailey stated on Saturday, November 19, at the American Legion in St. Paul Park, there will be a Thrivent Financial spaghetti dinner; those proceeds will go to the Holiday Train. Mayor Bailey stated he and the Council will also be bagging groceries on Sunday, November 20, right before Thanksgiving, at the Cottage Grove Cub Foods. Council Member Thiede stated citizens would probably want to get there early because that's also the date of the Packers-Vikings football game. Mayor Bailey stated once again SuperMom's Bakery is providing different holiday loaves, both blueberry and cranberry walnut; those loaves will be sold with 100% of the proceeds going to the Holiday Train and the Friends in Need Food Shelf. Those will be sold at a variety of events, but mainly in local area churches, starting in November; the price is $5 each. He encouraged everybody to purchase them. Council Member Peterson stated the Stone Soup Thrift Shop will be holding a new fundraiser, a Harvest Wine Dinner, on Wednesday, November 9, at the River Oaks Golf Course. Tickets are $55 each, and there is limited seating; tickets can be purchased City Council Meeting Minutes October 19, 2016 Page 9 through eventbrite.com, the Stone Soup Facebook page, or the link on the Stone Soup Thrift Shop website,uvuvuv...��r�r�.����a.��hrii�t�hr��er�r�. She said it should be a fun event and hoped to see people there. 13. WORKSHOPS — OPEN TO PUBLIC — None. 14. WORKSHOPS — CLOSED TO PUBLIC — None. 15. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Council Member Peterson, second by Council Member Thiede, to adjourn the meeting at 8:22 p.m. Motion carried: 5-0. Minutes prepared by Judy Graf and reviewed by Joe Fischbach, HR Manager/City Clerk.