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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes CITY OF COTTAGE GROVE Equal Opportunity Employer 2897 -458-Fax 651 2800 -458-651 grove.org -www.cottage Cottage Grove, Minnesota 55016 12800 Ravine Parkway  MINUTES COTTAGE GROVE CITY COUNCIL June 20, 2018 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 June 20, 2018, 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, 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 Wayne Johnson, Council Member La Rae Mills, and Council Member Dave Thiede. Also present were: Charlene Stevens, City Administrator; Korine Land, City Attorney- LeVander, Gillen & Miller, PA; John Burbank, Senior Planner; Les Burshten, Public Works Director; Zac Dockter, Parks and Recreation Director; Joe Fischbach/HR Manager/City Clerk; Jennifer Levitt, Community Development Director/City Engineer; John McCool, Senior Planner; Robin Roland, Finance Director; Pete Koerner, Director of Public Safety. 4. OPEN FORUM Mayor Bailey opened the open forum and 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 Motion by Council Member Thiede to adopt the agenda, second by Council Member Dennis. Motion carried: 5-0. City Council Meeting Minutes June 20, 2018 Page 2 6. PRESENTATIONS – None. 7. CONSENT AGENDA A. Approve the June 6, 2018 City Council Regular Meeting Minutes. B. Pass Ordinance 994 amending Title 3, Chapter 7 of the City Code relating to Alarm Systems. C. Authorize Public Works to advertise and sell surplus property on Cranky Ape or eBay. D. Accept and place on file the Joseph La Bathe Settler’s Island Natural Resource Management Plan. E. Approve the Easement Agreement with Independent School District No. 833 and Eternity Homes, LLC. F. 1) Approve the Stormwater Management Agreement with CG Sun, LLC. 2) Approve the Permanent Roadway Easement Agreement with McHattie Farms, Inc. and Keith E. & Bonnie K. McHattie. G. Approve the grant agreement with the Minnesota Department of Health for Source Water Protection Plan Implementation. H. If there are no changes, adopt the updated 2018-2019 Strategic Plan. Council Member Thiede wished to pull Items D and F for further comment and/or discussion. Council Member Thiede stated regarding Item D, Joseph La Bathe’s Settler’s Island Natural Resources Management Plan, he was curious because the cover sheet had indicated there were no budget implications; when he looked at the Management Plan, however, there were many places where it indicated expenses. He wondered if there was a budget implication. Parks and Recreation Director Zac Dockter stated that there is no budget implication at this time; we’re just placing the plan on file and it’s a tool for us to use if we decide to apply for grants, which will require Council authorization. Because it’s an island, there are a lot of dollars attached to that, so they need to figure out how to get to and from the island, which makes it more challenging. None of that work, however, will be done without Council authorization. Tonight there are no expenditures being approved; it’s just accepting what’s in the Management Plan. Council Member Thiede stated regarding Item F, CG Sun-Stormwater Management Agreement & Permanent Roadway Easement Agreement, he didn’t see anything about sharing that access road; we had previously discussed the solar farm that would be going in right next to it, to the east, and sharing the access road into it. He wondered if that would come into play here. Community Development Director/City Engineer Jennifer Levitt stated what’s before the Council is just an action that was part of CG Solar’s application and approval as part of the County’s approval on access to 70th Street. They’re indicating only one access point onto 70th Street; the landowner was required to dedicate permanent roadway easement on their half of the line. This is memorializing the condition that was on the previous, already-approved solar, and it’s with the actual landowner, not with the solar operator. This was one of the requirements as part of the approval. We are still working with the other adjacent City Council Meeting Minutes June 20, 2018 Page 3 landowner that you referenced; ideally, we’d rather see access off of 70th Street than to come through the residential neighborhood. That issue has not yet been fully resolved. This is just formalizing one of the conditions of approval of CG Solar’s application. Motion by Council Member Thiede to approve the Consent Agenda, second by Council Member Mills. Motion carried: 5-0. 8. APPROVE DISBURSEMENTS A. Approve payments for the period of 6/6/2018 through 6/21/2018 for $1,097,513.25. Motion by Council Member Johnson to approve disbursements, second by Council Member Dennis. Motion carried: 5-0. 9. PUBLIC HEARINGS A. CG Wellness, Inc. - Massage Business License Staff Recommendation: 1) Hold the public hearing to consider authorizing issuance of a massage business license. 2) Authorize issuance of a massage business license to CG Wellness, Inc., DBA Oasis Wellness Center at 7424 East Point Douglas Road. City Clerk Joe Fischbach stated Dr. Alex Sheppard representing CG Wellness, doing business as Oasis Wellness Center, has applied for a massage business license to operate at 7424 East Point Douglas Road. Boon Massage & Wellness Center is currently operating a massage business at that same location, and that was approved by the Council at the February 7, 2018 meeting. The City Code does not allow more than one massage business to operate at a single location; Boon is looking to relinquish their license and Oasis Wellness Center would pick up that license. Cottage Grove requires that a hearing take place, and notices be mailed to owners and occupants within 500 feet of the business, 15 days before the hearing; those notices were mailed out on May 24, 2018. The Public Safety Department did the required background check regarding this business; no facts were found to deny the application. Dr. Sheppard indicated that Anna Pereira, who is currently licensed as a massage therapist and who operated Boon Massage & Wellness Center, would continue to work at that location. Dr. Sheppard is present if there are any questions. Staff recommendation is to hold the public hearing and barring any negative comments from anyone in the audience, authorize issuance of the Massage Business License to CG Wellness DBA Oasis Wellness Center, to operate at 7424 East Point Douglas Road. Mayor Bailey opened the public hearing. As no one wished to address the Council on this item, Mayor Bailey closed the public hearing. Motion by Council Member Dennis to authorize issuance of a Massage Business City Council Meeting Minutes June 20, 2018 Page 4 License to CG Wellness, Inc. DBA Oasis Wellness Center at 7424 East Point Douglas Road; second by Council Member Council Member Thiede. Motion carried: 5-0. B. HY LLC - Massage Business License Staff Recommendation: 1) Hold the public hearing to consider authorizing issuance of a business license. 2) Authorize issuance of a business license to HY LLC, DBA Deep Tissue Bodywork at 8063 Hadley Avenue South. City Clerk Fischbach stated there’s currently a business at 8063 Hadley Avenue South, and they’re looking to relinquish that business and have a new business go in that location. Ling Ling Huang representing HY LLC DBA Deep Tissue Bodywork applied for a massage license at 8063 Hadley Avenue South; they are currently operating a massage business at that location, which the Council approved at their April 18, 2018 meeting. Since City Code does not allow two businesses at the same location, Deep Tissue Bodywork has agreed to relinquish their Massage Business License contingent upon approval of the new application. A hearing must take place and notices must be sent to properties within 500 feet; that was done and the notices were mailed on May 24, 2018. The Public Safety Department conducted a required background investigation; no facts were found to deny the application. We’re recommending the City Council hold the public hearing and authorize issuance of the Massage Business License to HY LLC DBA Deep Tissue Bodywork to operate at 8063 Hadley Avenue South. Mayor Bailey opened the public hearing; as no one wished to address the Council on this item, Mayor Bailey closed the public hearing. Motion by Council Member Mills to authorize issuance of a Massage Business License to HY LLC DBA Deep Tissue Bodywork at 8063 Hadley Avenue; second by Council Member Johnson. Motion carried: 5-0. 10. BID AWARDS – None. 11. REGULAR AGENDA A. Cottage Grove Ice Arena Locker Room Expansion Staff Recommendation: 1) Authorize a lease agreement with South Washington County Schools to expand the Cottage Grove Ice Arena with the purpose of adding additional locker room space. 2) Accept donation from the East Ridge Face-Off Club in the amount of $301,504 to expand its locker room space at the Cottage Grove Ice Arena. 3) Authorize staff to proceed with the East Ridge locker room expansion at the Cottage Grove Ice Arena. 4) Authorize public locker room expansion at the Cottage Grove Ice Arena for $100,376. 5) Authorize staff to enter into an City Council Meeting Minutes June 20, 2018 Page 5 agreement with RVK Architects to perform architectural and construction management services for the approved locker room expansion project. Director Dockter gave a history of the Ice Arena and its renovations; as part of those processes, the school land lease was updated and there was also a Recreational Facility Use Agreement updated for the East Ridge High School program expansion. The current locker room situation is 12 public locker rooms, four for each sheet of ice, which is basically minimum capacity. If there are two teams on the ice, they need two locker rooms, and the two teams waiting to get on the ice need two locker rooms, so that’s four per sheet of ice. The East Ridge High School boys have a private varsity locker room, which means they’re allowed to keep their equipment inside overnight or for extended periods; there are locker room use agreements in place. The East Ridge High School junior varsity boys have a public locker room, where they must bring their equipment home with them. What spearheaded this conversation is frustration from the students who need to bring their equipment to school with them, bring it to the Ice Arena, and then bring it home at night. Park High School boys are in the same situation, with both a private and a public locker room. Park High School girls use the public locker room, and both the varsity and junior varsity teams are able to get dressed inside the locker rooms. There is an agreement in place for 150 ice hours per team, which the School District purchases from the Cottage Grove Ice Arena; that’s the same agreement with the HealthEast Sports Center in Woodbury. Director Dockter stated the project proposal is a 284 square foot addition, which would house a new East Ridge High School boys’ varsity and junior varsity locker room, two public locker rooms, and a small storage area, which would be City owned. He showed a picture of what the addition would look like when completed, and reviewed the floor plan. Project benefits would include dedicated locker rooms for both East Ridge hockey teams, additional public locker room space, additional storage space, and future expansion options for the Park boys’ and girls’ hockey teams. He reviewed the estimated project cost, which includes a contingency of 6%, architectural fees, and construction management fees. The project funding would include a one-year loan, $50,000, from the Park Improvement Fund to the Ice Arena, which would be paid back in 2019. Director Dockter stated he’d take any questions. Council Member Mills asked who would be responsible for cleaning all of the new area; he stated that all varsity locker rooms would fall under the same agreement already in place, so East Ridge would be responsible for cleaning their own locker rooms. Council Member Mills asked about if they’d now encounter problems with sufficient parking space with the addition; he stated he didn’t think the situation would get any worse, as most of the events are on weekends. The real issues are on Tuesday and Thursday nights when the school has events going on in their facility. Council Member Johnson stated he liked that there was thought put into how we can get more out of our existing facilities to increase revenue; he appreciated that the other City Council Meeting Minutes June 20, 2018 Page 6 communities are stepping up to the plate to expand this facility and make it more valuable. Council Member Thiede asked how this addition played into future expansion, and when they planned to further expand the facility. Director Dockter stated he didn’t see the Ice Arena being expanded anytime in the near future, perhaps in 20-to-30 years. Council Member Thiede reviewed the financials and wondered how much Cottage Grove was actually subsidizing the arena, if at all; Director Dockter stated that it was approximately $200,000 a year, due to debt service that we have. He stated that they’re one of the few rinks that have an operating profit so we can pay down the debt service. Council Member Thiede stated he wanted to make sure that the taxpayers in Cottage Grove were getting an appropriate return for their investment in the Ice Arena; Director Dockter stated there’s an opportunity to increase our ice rental rates, and we’re looking at that right now. The rates will probably increase this fall or at least by January 1, which will also help offset the costs. Council Member Thiede asked if there were indirect benefits with tournaments where visitors to Cottage Grove would frequent the local businesses; Director Dockter stated if the Ice Arena were not there, the City would see a definite negative economic impact. Council Member Dennis stated he had spoken to Director Dockter earlier today due to some questions he had regarding the structuring from a business standpoint. His only concern when it comes time to structure the lease contract would be to think about what might happen if in the future the School District were to reassign boundaries, and students from Cottage Grove would not be attending East Ridge. He’s heard from residents about that concern so he thought he’d mention it now. Director Dockter replied the both Cottage Grove and Woodbury draw players from many surrounding cities. Motion by Council Member Johnson to authorize a lease amendment with South Washington County Schools to expand the Cottage Grove Ice Arena with the purpose of adding additional locker room space; second by Council Member Mills. Motion carried: 5-0. Motion by Council Member Thiede to accept donation from the East Ridge Face-Off Club in the amount of $301,504 to expand its locker room space at the Cottage Grove Ice Arena; second by Council Member Dennis. Motion carried: 5-0. Motion by Council Member Dennis to authorize staff to proceed with the East Ridge locker room expansion project at the Cottage Grove Ice Arena for a project estimate of $301,504; second by Council Member Mills. Motion carried: 5-0. Motion by Council Member Mills to authorize public locker room expansion at the Cottage Grove Ice Arena for $100,376; second by Council Member Thiede. Motion carried: 5-0. Motion by Council Member Johnson to authorize staff to enter into an agreement with City Council Meeting Minutes June 20, 2018 Page 7 RVK Architects to perform architectural and construction management services for the approved locker room expansion project; second by Council Member Thiede. Motion carried: 5-0. 12. COUNCIL COMMENTS AND REQUESTS Council Member Mills stated the upcoming summer concert series will begin on the evening of June 21 with Blues Harmonica for Kids followed by a concert; that will take place here at the amphitheater behind City Hall and should be a fun night. She said if the weather doesn’t cooperate, St. Luke’s will be the alternate site should it rain. Food trucks will also be there. Council Member Thiede stated he’d like to thank everyone who attended the Strawberry Fest this year; except for a little rain on Saturday morning and a little warmth in the afternoon, it was a great event. They appreciated everyone who attended. There will be a Halloween parade this fall. They’ll start planning next year’s Strawberry Fest in a couple weeks and would love to get some new people involved on the committee. If there’s anyone who loves to have fun, consider joining the committee to help plan for the greatest festival in Cottage Grove for next year. Mayor Bailey stated the Farmers’ Market begins on June 21, at the Cottage Grove United Church of Christ; it’s the 12th season, and the market will run every Thursday from 2:30 to 6:30 p.m., in the church parking lot, through October 11. Fresh produce, locally sourced honey, caged free eggs, homemade jams and jellies, and barbecue sauce will be available. The Eggroll Queen food truck will be returning this year, and there will be a kids’ corner craft station every week this summer and a kids’ story time a couple times a month led by the children’s librarian at the Cottage Grove Public Library. The church will be operating its food stand again this year with fresh brats and hot dogs, ice cream cones, root beer floats, and more. They’ll also be having a weekly bake sale with homemade desserts and goodies made by the members and friends of Cottage Grove United Church of Christ. He encouraged everyone to attend. Mayor Bailey stated this will be the last Council Meeting before the 4th of July; there will be a celebration in Cottage Grove. It will again be at Kingston Park; this year, though, he approached local businesses to help really upgrade the fireworks opportunities within our community on behalf of the City and the Cottage Grove Lions Club. The Cottage Grove Lions Club manages the program, and there will be food and events at Kingston Park starting at 5:00 p.m. At approximately 10:30 to 10:45 p.m., the plan is to have the fireworks launched. It is going to be a substantial show this year. The cost is about $1,000 per minute for a good show; he used that information and approached local businesses in Cottage Grove and was able to raise money, so there’s about $20,000 to put towards the fireworks display. He wanted to specifically acknowledge 3M, Werner Electric, Hy-Vee, Dennis Brothers Liquors, and Tennis Sanitation for their contributions; another business may also donate to this event. Whatever funds won’t be used this year will be saved for next year’s event. He hopes everybody comes out to City Council Meeting Minutes June 20, 2018 Page 8 Kingston Park this year and has a great time on the 4th of July. 13. WORKSHOPS – OPEN TO PUBLIC – CONFERENCE ROOM A. 2040 Comprehensive Plan Update Workshop Community Development Director/City Engineer Levitt stated this was one more opportunity to take the feedback from the public hearing on May 29, to make any revisions to the Comprehensive Plan before it’s brought before the Council on July 18. At that time, the Council will be asked to approve the actual Comprehensive Plan that will be distributed to our adjacent communities and other agencies that are required to comment. Tonight is the opportunity for the Council to make final revisions to the Comprehensive Plan. She introduced Phil Carlson, a Planner with Stantec, Inc.; he will walk us through the plan and any changes made. Mr. Carlson stated his presentation would provide highlights of various chapters of the plan; he wanted to dwell on some of the land issues, which are some of the key components of the plan. He reviewed the process for the 2040 Comprehensive Plan up to this point, which is an update to the 2030 Plan; we’re almost at the final step. He reviewed each chapter of the Comprehensive Plan: Community Growth and Vision; Land Use; Housing; Historic Preservation; Parks and Open Space; Transportation; Water Resources; Economic Development; Resilience; and Implementation. Regarding the Water Resources, Council Member Thiede raised the issue of reusing treated wastewater, rather than just putting that water back into the river; Engineer Levitt stated that the Metropolitan Council had adopted a wastewater reuse policy about a month ago, as they thought it was a real benefit and an economic driver. Council Member Thiede felt perhaps we should put a comment in the Comprehensive Plan that we’re looking at ways to reuse water; Engineer Levitt agreed and felt perhaps that comment should be part of the Economic Development section. Regarding Land Use, Mr. Carlson stated there have been two new categories added since the 2030 Comprehensive Plan; those include Agricultural Preserve, mostly located in the eastern part of the City, and Mixed Use Within 300’ of Arterial Roadways, which would include Highway 61, etc. Regarding Mixed Use, Senior Planner John McCool stated that’s allowed in our zoning ordinance; it’s simply titled Planned Unit Development (PUD). There are currently four areas of Mixed Use within the City: Almar Village, Pine Grove of Cottage Grove, Southpoint Ridge, and Pine Arbor and Summerhill Crossings. Mayor Bailey expressed concerns regarding Mixed Use with residential and commercial combinations; those included not having a good flow in some of those areas, lack of open space, homes too close together, appearance, etc. City Council Meeting Minutes June 20, 2018 Page 9 Mr. Carlson reviewed the changes to each of the 14 areas of the City; discussion took place on the following areas: Area 1: Council Member Johnson felt there should be some commercial buildings in that area to which residents could walk, such as a coffee shop; discussion took place regarding options for that area. It was determined to leave it unchanged for now, but future changes would need a Comprehensive Plan Amendment. Area 3: North end of Ravine master plan, Ravine Parkway alignment refined, major commercial and housing node in NE part of the City. Council Member Dennis suggested some changes to this area. Mr. Carlson stated he thought it would be helpful for Council to see a quick sketch of this area in order to visualize the roadways and the parcels and would provide that to the Council so they could decide which they liked better and determine what density they’d want there. Mayor Bailey felt if they had to drive through high-density residential to get to the commercial area that would be a detriment. Area 13: Director Levitt stated the Mississippi Dunes Golf Course has been changed from parks and open space/golf course to medium density residential and a transitional planning area; this provides the most flexibility and ensures that the river access can be sculpted into the vision the Council has. Planner McCool stated Irene Jones of the Friends of the Mississippi River was present; Ms. Jones asked if there were was a possibility some broader goals would be set for the transitional areas regarding river access or if that would occur later when dealing with a developer. Mr. Carlson stated the language in the plan keeps it very open ended, that the area needs more planning. The scientific area has a lot of restrictions; Mayor Bailey stated it will be interesting to see if that gets used more with development opportunities in that area. Director Levitt stated that these are some of the biggest changes to the Comprehensive Plan regarding the industrial and medium density; they’ve tried to be forward thinking regarding the density, but she wondered if it’s okay to call the Mississippi Dunes golf course transitional versus just stating park and low density. If it’s labeled transitional, developers state it’s another hurdle they need to jump through. Council Member Johnson felt the best way to protect the land would be to label it transitional and just see what happens. Mayor Bailey stated the developers who had expressed interest were very much in favor of doing high density above the track; we’re leaving that as an option so they can start there. Planner McCool stated most likely you’d see a Concept Plan approval in that area, which could instigate land use that wouldn’t coincide with the development plan; he didn’t feel it’s a hurdle, but it’s more of a side step. Council Member Mills stated she felt transitional was the way to go. Area 14: Director Levitt stated the Metropolitan Council will be initiating the master plan for Grey Cloud Island but not until 2019 or 2020; at that point, we’d be talking about the master plan for the regional park on Grey Cloud Island. Mr. Carlson said the landowners are going to want to discuss that issue with the Metropolitan Council; Mayor Bailey agreed and said he wanted to make sure we had a seat at the table so they understand making the whole island a park isn’t an option. Administrator Stevens stated they’d be sending information out to the Council with some more information on the area of 70th Street and Keats Avenue to determine where they City Council Meeting Minutes June 20, 2018 Page 10 want to see the high density and commercial, and hope to get some more feedback from the Council Meeting on July 18. Council Member Johnson stated he would not vote yes for the plan without the change to multi use at 65th and Hinton; Council Member Dennis asked Council Member Thiede for his thoughts on that. Council Member Thiede stated he was okay with it. Senior Planner McCool stated to move forward with the Comprehensive Plan they need a 4/5 vote. Four Council members indicated they would support the change to multi use, with Mayor Bailey indicating he would not. Mr. Carlson said they’d also be making some changes to some photographs, as suggested by Council Members and staff members during the presentation. 14. WORKSHOPS – CLOSED TO PUBLIC – None. 15. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Council Member Mills, second by Council Member Thiede, to adjourn the meeting at 9:28 p.m. Motion carried: 5-0. Minutes prepared by Judy Graf and reviewed by Joe Fischbach, HR Manager/City Clerk.