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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1999-11-03 MINUTES�� �. FINAL AGENDA (Amended Nov 2, 1999) � COTTAGE GROVE CITY COUNCIL NOVEMBER 3, 1999 Persons wishing to address the Council during fhis meeting are asked to fill out a"Speaker Signup Form" and return the form to any Staff Member prior to the start of the meeting. Speaker Signup Forms are located on each audience chair in the Council Chamber. WORKSHOP - REVIEW AND DISCUSS THE DEBT STUDY - 6:30 P.M. OPEN FORUM - 7:15 P.M. Persons may address the City Council on subjects that are not a part of the Regular Meeting agenda, but must limit remarks to two (2) minutes. Open forum will adjourn to the Regular Meeting promptly at 7:30 p.m. Open Forum and a portion of the Regular Meeting are televised LIVE, airing on Government Channel 12. REGULAR MEETING - 7:30 P.M. • CALL TO ORDER — Mayor ROLL CALL — City Clerk ADOPTION OF AGENDA 2. PRESENTATIONS 3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. August 18, 1999 Special Meeting. B. September 15, 1999 Regular Meeting. C. October 6, 1999 Regular Meeting. 4. CONSENT CALENDAR A. Accept and Place on File the Following Minutes: i. Public Safety, Health and Welfare Commission of September 14, 1999. *ii. Planning Commission of September 27, 1999. B. Adopt resolution amending the pavement management assessment formula for residential parcels in future reconstruction projects. Staff Recommendation: Adopt the resolution. C. Consider Grey Cloud Island Township Request. Staff Recommendation: Deny request of Grey Cloud Island Township in favor of . the Public Hearing/meet and confer options under present annexation process. � � NOVEMBER 3, 1999 AGENDA Cottage Grove City Council � o. E. F. G. **H Cal! for public hearing on December 1, 1999 to discuss an ordinance amendment concerning the rural taxing district ratio. Staff Recommendation: Call the public hearing. Review and adopt skate sharpening service contract agreement with Ben Catroneo and Dan Rehkamp. Staff Recommendation: Adopt the agreement. Adopt resolution approving the U.S. West Subdivision final plat at 7606 — 80th Street and 7676 — 80th Street. Staff Recommendation: Adopt the resolution. Review and adopt an advertisement sales agreement and agreement for advertisement at the Cottage Grove Ice Arena. Staff Recommendation: Adopt the agreements. Receive information regarding the intersection of 80th Street and Hemingway Avenue. Staff Recommendation: Receive information. • � U RESPONSE TO PREVIOUSLY RAISED OPEN FORUM fSSUES PUBLIC HEARINGS BID AWARDS 5. 6. 7. 8. UNFINISHED AND NEW BUSINESS A. Adopt resolution providing for the sale of $1,100,000 of Golf Course Revenue Bonds, and adopt resolution providing for the sale of $1,690,000 of Water Enterprise Revenue Bonds. Staff Recommendation: Adopt the resolutions. *B. Discussion on Hadley Avenue mitigation options. Staff Recommendation: Provide direction regarding traffic-regulation alternatives. RESPONSE TO PREVIOUSLY RAISED COUNCIL COMMENTS AND REQUESTS A. Parental Accountability. � COUNCIL COMMENTS AND REQUESTS iCl 11. PAY BiLLS A. Approve payment of check numbers 110356 to 110551 in the amount of $486.091.57. 12. WORKSHOP SESSiON — OPEN TO PUBLIC ***A. Ice Arena Update. B. Engineering Services. 13. WORKSHOP SESSION — CLOSED TO PUBLIC ADJOURNMENT * Monday Packet Items ** Contains Supplemental Information *** Packet Item(s) Submitted 11/2/99 ,: � REGULAR MEETING COTTAGE GROVE C1TY COUNCIL NOVEMBER 3, 1999 WORKSHOP SESSION — REVIEW AND DISCUSS THE DEBT STUDY — 6:30 P.M. Sean Lentz from Ehlers and Associates outlined the debt study, in which outstanding debt is scrutinized to determine whether current market conditions warrant refinancing of certain funds. Fund 320 for the Up North Plastic project should be examined because the TIF district may not fuily fund the debt. Fund 470, which financed 95th Street, had deferred assessments that had not yet been collected. The tax levy for Fund 472 could be scaled back. Fund 476 involved a similar issue, in which the levy might be reduced. Fund 477, which the infrastructure for the uncompleted West Draw Meadows was bonded for, required that funds be transferred from the capital project fund to the debt service fund. Council Member Shiely asked what the advantages and disadvantages of assessments coming in early were. Lentz replied that it is dictated by market conditions. Lentz recommended that the 1990 G.O. Improvement Bonds be called early and paid off, and that Council action would have to take place in December in order to comply with the notification requirements. One of his general refinancing guidelines was that there be a 4- to 5-percent savings. He said around $800,000 is being levied this year to pay off the current outstanding bonds, and noted that any new pavement management projects would have to be put on top of the current levy. Fifteen years, he remarked, was an appropriate bonding period for projects such as pavement management. Finance Director Elizabeth Johnson suggested that in the future the � City could budget a certain number of miles for pavement management in order that capital would not have to be borrowed. Council Member Kohls felt some further discussion should take place on this matter. OPEN FORUM - 7:15 P.M. Open forum provides a person an opportunity to inform the Council of a problem or to request information related to City business not scheduled for Council action and on the Agenda. Mayor Denzer encouraged persons to timit their remarks to two (2) minutes per issue. Present: Mayor John Denzer Council Member Cheryl Kohls Council Member Pat Rice Council Member Sandy Shiely Council Member Jim Wolcott Also Present: Ryan Schroeder, City Administrator Elizabeth Johnson, Finance Director Les Burshten, Public Works Director Mike Zurbey, Police Captain Bob Long, City Attorney Jerry Bourdon, City Engineer Neil Belscamper, Secretary -� There were no open-forum issues. �3 Regular Meeting - November 3, 1999 Cottage Grove Cify Council Page 2 • CALL TO ORDER The City Council of the City of Cottage Grove, Washington County, Minnesota held a regular meeting on Wednesday, November 3, 1999, at the Cottage Grove City Hall, 7516 - 80th Street South. Mayor Denzer called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. ROLL CALL Present: Mayor John Denzer Council Member Cheryl Kohls Council Member Pat Rice Council Member Sandy Shiely Council Member Jim Wolcott Also Present: Ryan Schroeder, City Administrator Elizabeth Johnson, Finance Director Les Burshten, Public Works Director Mike Zurbey, Police Captain Bob Long, City Attorney Jerry Bourdon, City Engineer Neil Belscamper, Secretary ADOPTION OF AGENDA • MOTION BY WOLCOTT, SECONDED BY SHIELY, TO APPROVE THE FINAL AGENDA AS SUBMITTED. MOTION CARRIED. 5-0. PRESENTATIONS - None. APPROVAL OF MINUTES The August 18, 1999 Special Meeting Minutes, September 15, 1999 Regular Meeting Minutes, and October 6, 1999 Regular Meeting Minutes were approved as submitted. CONSENT CALENDAR Mayor Denzer asked if there were any items on the consent calendar that the Council would like to pull other than Items D and G. Both Shiely and Kohls requested that Item C be pulled from the consent calendar. Schroeder noted that a minor change had been made to the resolution under Item 4.F. ITEM 4.C. Shiely requested that this item be voted on separately from the rest of the consent calendar. �� The item was a request, Kohls said, from Grey Cloud Island Township to delay any action and have more communication between the parties involved with the proposed annexation of an ; � — :� Regular Meeting - November 3, 1999 Cottage Grove City Council Page 3 • individual's property. She voiced her concern that the issue was being rushed, and wanted to move forward with discussions between all the parties involved. Schroeder explained that a request for annexation of a portion of an individual's property had been presented to the City; a separate request for another portion of the same property had been made with the City of St. Paul Park. For an orderly annexation to take place, both the City and Grey Cloud Island Township would have approve the request, which Grey Cloud lsland Township did not. As an alternative to the orderly annexation of the property in question, a different resolution for annexation had been adopted by the City Council on a split vote. As Grey Cloud Island Township was opposed to this resolution, they had requested that the Council reconsider its adoption. Schroeder outlined three possible actions on the request as follows: Do nothing and allow actions to proceed. Reconsider the request of Grey Cloud Island Township and adopt an orderly-annexation resolution. Let the existing resolution prevail, knowing there would be opportunities to initiate conversations with the township, which was Staff's recommendation. Kohls remarked that the under Staff's recommendation, the dialogue between parties would be state mandated. Schroeder replied that it would be state-mandated meet and confer, or • mediation. Denzer said he had not heard from any Grey Cloud Island Township board member on the topic, with the exception of the Dennis Hanna, who had drafted a letter to the City. MOTION BY WOLCOTT, SECONDED BY RICE TO DENY GREY CLOUD ISLAND TOWNSHIP'S REQUEST. MOTION CARRIED. 3-2. (KOHLS AND SHIELY VOTED NAY.) ITEM 4.D. Rural Taxing District. Gene Smallidge, 10992 East Point Douglas Road South, felt that the current rate structure made sense. His rational was that the rural residents do not demand or receive the same services as urban residents. Citing a nationwide survey by the American Farmland Trust, he stated that residential developments use $1.15 in services for every $1 collected in property taxes, while rural areas of the respective municipalities only use $0.34 in services for every $1 collected, effectively subsidizing the former. The disparity of the agricultural economy, he went on, with the general economy continues to hurt the rural community. He said a number-one response on city and county surveys was that residents of Cottage Grove and South Washington County want to preserve family farms and open space. He requested that the Council not consider any change to the present rural-tax-rate structure. Robert Hudnut, 7145 65th Street, stated that the best thing to do was drop the proposal to raise the rural-tax rate. The logical reason why the rate should be lower, he said, was because the rural residents receive less service. Additionally, he felt that the proposal was in conflict with the comprehensive plan, quoting the language: "support development in the rural service area only if it does not create the need for urban-scale services." Raising taxes on unplatted rural land might . force landowners to subdivide their land in order to pay their tax bills, Hudnut contended, while - the comprehensive plan calls for the retention and promotion of commercial agriculture as a > � Regular Meeting - November 3, 1999 Coftage Grove Cify Council Page 4 • significant community activity and land use. He felt that the City budget was too high, rather than rural landowners having paid too little. Pat Kotnour, 9770 Military Road, addressed the Council. Her understanding was that it took a home with an assessed value of at least $200,000 to pay for the services it generates, and she felt that all the less-expensive homes being built were putting an unfair tax burden on the rest of the City. She argued that the City was targeting rural landowners, while there was a huge problem that did not have anything to do with them, and everyone needed to pay their fair share without targeting just one group. Schroeder said that the action being requested was only to schedule a public hearing on rural-tax issue for December 1. Notices would be sent out to the parcels that would potentially be affected by the proposal. In anticipation of the public hearing, Schroeder had already compiled some information from other metro-area communities. Currently, the only rural-taxing districts in the metro area were as follows: Dakota County—a small portion of land annexed by the City of Northfield, with a 6-year phase in to expire in two years. Scott County—one rural-taxing district that expires next year. Carver County—only four cities with rural taxing districts: Mayer, Victoria, Waconia, • Chanhassen. Washington County—only three cities with rural taxing districts: Cottage Grove, Hugo, Stillwater. Schroeder said that a levy of 70% is presently in place in the rural-taxing district in Cottage Grove, which is the most liberal rate of the three cities with like tax structures in Washington County; the public hearing proposal for December called for a levy increase to 80%. Schroeder highlighted examples of how the proposal would affect two separate properties in Cottage Grove. In the first instance, which was a farmstead valued at $1.1 million, the present levy would generate a City tax of $611.85 for the year 2000, while under the proposal (which would not actually be effective until the year 2001), $685.03 would be generated for the same period. Under the second example, a non-homestead property valued at $528,700, $1,006.15 would be generated in City taxes under the present structure, with $1,126.52 under the proposal. Schroeder gave some other examples of the City portion of taxes assessed to various commercial properties, and asked that everyone should keep in mind these figures when looking at the proposal concerning the rural-taxing district. A fair thing to do, he said, was to revisit the issue, being it had not been examined in over thirty years. He emphasized that the intent of tonight's request was only to schedule a public hearing on the matter, and then the appropriate notice could be mailed to those affected by any potential change in the rate structure. Schroeder remarked that there were also some commercial properties benefiting from the rural- • tax structure, and that those properties should be reviewed for compliance with the intent of the original policy. He said he recommended that Council adopt a motion to schedule the public � hearing for December 1. � Regular Meeting - November 3, 1999 Cottage Grove City Council Page 5 • Shiely said her impression was that citizens believe the Council has already decided to do away with the rural-taxing district. She emphasized that the action tonight would be to set the public hearing. Staff, she said, had reviewed the policies of several other communities, and in order to be responsible Council Members, the issue should be examined. At this time, a ten-percent increase was being looked at, she continued, not the elimination of the taxing district. Kohls commented that she was proud that Cottage Grove was one of the few communities that still offered such a rate structure in the metro area, and that support of rural properties was important to the citizens. One of her concerns was that there would be a ten-percent increase one year, then another ten-percent increase the next, and so forth, until the rate was up to 100 percent. She stated that rural properties do not have the same demand for services as urban properties. She called for a recommendation at the public hearing that would have wording to the effect of protecting family farms. Schroeder said that one of the ideas had been to mold the new policy to the agrarian intent of the original policy. Shiely said she had heard comments to the effect that the City was trying to generate revenue because it was spending too much; she said it was a relatively small amount of money involved, and the real issue was one of equity. ITEM 4.G. Siqnage at the Cottage Grove Arena. • Terry Johnson, 8324 - 69th Street South, spoke on behalf of the Park High Boys' Hockey Booster Club on the issue of signage at the Cottage Grove Arena. He felt that the City taking over the fundraising for signage would be detrimental to the High School Hockey program. His concerns were over future financial impacts, which could affect the affordability of ice time, equipment, and coaching for players. He said he had been told repeatedly that no changes to the program would take place this year, and recommended that the proposal be tabled. He disputed the possible revenue figures that had been presented in the packet. Schroeder commented that the potential revenue figures had been determined through the number of signs and the current advertising rates. He said that assuming the same level of advertising were to occur, the Boosters' income would be expected to go down, and the City's income would go up to the same level as the Boosters'. MOTION BY SHEILY, SECONDED BY WOLCOTT, TO TABLE THE ITEM UNTIL AFTER FUTHER DISCUSSION WITH THE BOOSTER CLUB. MOTION CARRIED. 5-0. Rice stated that he was troubled by seeing this issue on the agenda. He felt the City does not have a lot at stake in installing and maintaining the signs, and should not profit by it. MOTION BY RICE, SECONDED BY WOLCOTT, TO: A. Accept and Place on File the Following Minutes: i. Public Safety, Health and Welfare Commission of September 14, 1999. . ii. Planning Commission of September 27, 1999. , �. • B. D. E. F. • � Regular Meeting - November 3, 1999 Cottage Grove City Council Page 6 Adopt RESOLUTION NO. 99-192, a resolution amending the pavement management assessment formula for residential parcels in future reconstruction projects. Call for public hearing on December 1, 1999 to discuss an ordinance amendment concerning the rural taxing district ratio. Review and adopt skate sharpening service contract agreement with Ben Catroneo and Dan Rehkamp. Adopt RESOLUTION NO. 99-193, a resolution approving the U.S. West Subdivision final plat at 7606 — 80th Street and 7676 — 80th Street. H. Receive information regarding the intersection of 80th Street and Hemingway Avenue. MOTION CARRIED. 5-0. RESPONSE TO PREVIOUSLY RAISED OPEN FORUM ISSUES - None. PUBLIC HEARINGS - None. BID AWARDS - None. UNFINISHED AND NEW BUSINESS Sale of $1 100,000 of Golf Course Revenue Bonds, and sale of $1,690.000 of Water Enterprise Revenue Bonds. MOTION BY WOLCOTT, SECONDED BY RICE TO ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 99-194, A RESOLUTION PROVIDING FOR THE SALE OF GOLF COURSE REVENUE BONDS. MOTION CARRI ED. 5-0. MOTION BY WOLCOTT, SECONDED BY SHIELY TO ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 99-195, A RESOLUTION PROVIDING FOR THE SALE OF WATER ENTERPRISE REVENUE BONDS. MOTION CARRIED. 5-0. Discussion on Hadley Avenue mitiqation options. Schroeder said that residents of the neighborhood impacted by this issue had met and recommended that the City regrade the roadway by 3 or 4 feet. The cost would be in the $25,000- to-$50,000 range. Schroeder said that the City's recommendation is that other interim solutions be considered. Staff recommendations were prioritized in order and presented as follows: Reduce speed limit to 30 MPH. Increased enforcement measures. Installation of additional streetlights. Placement of rumble strips. Stop sign placement. Schroeder felt that these measures might provide an improvement short of regrading. �' .' Regular Meeting - November 3, 1999 Cottage Grove City Council Page 7 • Ron Reiman, 6100 Hadley Avenue, spoke on the issue. He appreciated the attention the issue had been given. He opposed using additional streetlights, and suggested that a traffic circle might be another cost-effective solution. Don Dame of Woodbury disagreed with the staff recommendations. He remarked that kids were intentionally seeking out the road as thrill seekers, and speed limits signs would be useless in this case. The teenage thrill seekers would drive the road first to check for police presence, and rumble strips are negated by traveling over them at high speed. He recommended that the road be regraded to the point that it is no Ionger attractive to thrill seekers, and felt it would solve the problem. A traffic circle, he noted, would cost more than regrading the road. He recommended that the Council vote to spend $25,000 to fix the road. Robert Hudnut, 7145 65th Street, recommended improved signage at the top of the hill. Camera placement at the top of the hill, he also noted, might prove to be an excellent deterrent. Kohls stated her concerns that additional signs and lighting might amount to advertising the road to those seeking it out. Captain Zurbey felt that signage might impact some of the thrill seekers, but perhaps not all. Kohls stated that some kids had been killed on the road, and there had been many bad accidents. MOTION BY KOHLS, SECONDED BY SHIELY TO ALLOCATE UP TO $25,000 FOR SAFETY • IMPROVEMENTS TO HADLEY AVENUE, NORTH OF 65TH STREET. Rice felt that regrading the roadway would not change anything. Denzer commented that it was the thrill seekers' recklessness at fault in these cases, but that if the attraction was eliminated for them, the problem would go away. Denzer felt most of the recommendation presented would not solve the problem, and that the road should be regraded. Henry Mattaini, 7459 Ivystone Avenue South, felt that the roadway should be made into a dead end, and that would solve the problem. Wolcott remarked that it is not possible to make everything safe for people who flagrantly disregard the law, but said he would reluctantly go along with the motion. Shiely said there is another hilly road that young people have been injured on; stop signs had been installed at the bottom of the hill to remedy the problem, and it had made a difference. There was a split among the Hadley Avenue neighbors regarding the regrading of the road, and Shiely said that the motion was not specifically for regrading the hill at this point; she said the option of a traffic circle should be looked at, or the possibility of a stop sign before the top of the hill. After clarification, Kohls' motion was for the appropriation of $25,000 for resolving the problem, but not for any specific solution. She said she would like to look at the traffic circle as an alternative. Bourdon commented that a study had shown that the traffic circle might be more • expensive than originally thought; he said he would try to find solutions to lower the cost. MOTION CARRIED. 4-1. (RICE VOTING NAY.) � , � � Regular Meeting - November 3, 1999 Cottage Grove City Council Page 8 • RESPONSE TO PREVIOUSLY RAISED COUNCIL COMMENTS AND REQUESTS Report on Parental Accountabilitv - Written response to Council. COUNCIL COMMENTS AND REQUESTS Kohls commented that the article in the newspaper about the school kids visiting City Hall was very interesting. She asked if they were going to do it again. Schroeder said there might be similar visits in the future. Shiely said she had received calls about a recent helicopter accident. She asked why aircraft maintain such a low flight pattern until they reach the St. Croix River. Rice replied that they maintain a low level to avoid the flight routes of larger aircraft traveling out of the International Airport. PAY BILLS MOTION BY WOLCOTT, SECONDED BY KOHLS, TO APPROVE PAYMENT OF CHECK NUMBERS 110356 TO 110551 IN THE AMOUNT OF $486,091.57. MOTION CARRIED. 5-0. WORKSHOP SESSION — OPEN TO PUBLIC • Ice Arena Update. John Fredrickson stated that Mark Rodrigo, the general contractor, was there to answer questions. Rodorigo said some blockage had been found in the refrigerant lines, but he was hoping the studio rink could be up and running by Saturday. Problems with the main rink had also been discovered, and additional lines would be tested for blockage. Rodorigo said that a systematic approach was needed to attempt to limit the down time of the arena, and that it was not an easy fix. Someone from the audience commented that there had been the same problem whenever the studio rink was started up, and voiced his concern that running the studio rink would worsen the problems with the main rink. Rodorigo replied that running the studio rink does not affect the main ri n k. Mike Koslowski said that the problem had existed longer than five years. He said that the same portion of the rink has always had problems, and felt that being a single refrigeration plant provides for both rinks, they do, in fact, affect one another. Kohls asked if a single refrigerant plant feeding more than one rink was typical. Koslowski replied that is a fairly typical scenario. He, and several others in the audience, wanted to know what the contingency plan was and how long the rink would be out of commission. Koslowski said they would be doing everything they could to get the rink up and running as soon as possible. Burshten said they should know by Friday. � After comments by several audience members over past operational practices at the arena, Fredrickson explained some of the maintenance problems and solutions that had taken place. � �M n Regular Meeting - November 3, 1999 Cottage Grove City Council Page 9 � Schroeder said that almost $600,000 has been put into the arena in the last 3 years, and that the issue tonight was determining what could be done to resolve the problem. Shiely commented that every year the City makes a commitment to the arena and underwrites its expenses. An audience member asked what happens to the revenue from the arena. Schroeder replied that the expenses exceed the revenue and that there is a net loss on the facility. Kohls commented that she felt the City was making a committed effort to resolving the problem. She requested that staff reexamine what would have to be spent to allow for adequate maintenance of the plant in the future. Denzer requested a history of repairs on the facility. Engineering Services. Schroeder said that staff had been working with BRAA to improve procedures. His suggestions were: 1. Relationship with BRAA to continue for general engineering, but contract needs to be updated—Council direction to update contract and fee schedule. 2. Council direction to allow staff to go to other firms on occasion. 3. lmproved philosophy on how projects get done—staff leadership. Kohls expressed her interest in supporting a new contract and fee schedule, but did not support a • clause over the engineering firm's ownership of electronic data. Bourdon stated that the electronic data contract needed to be signed because electronic data can be altered, and it was for their protection. Schroeder remarked that there had been an issue because of an electronic data contract, and because of a difference of understanding between staff and engineering, it had taken a long time to resolve. Schroeder said that issue was representative of other issues that had happened in the past. Council reached a consensus on item number one. In regard to Item 2, Wolcott commented that Council would have to approve staff using other engineering firms for service. Kohls stated that she did not want to see too many different engineering firms involved with City projects. Council reached a consensus on item 2, with the stipulation that Council approve the employment of outside firms. In regard to item 3, Council affirmed that staff should be directing projects. Wolcott emphasized that staff should not overextend their bounds in regard to in-house issues, however, and that the engineering firm might have more expertise on some City issues. Kohls asked what the procedure for staff contacting BRAA was. Schroeder said that work orders had been implemented in the past, but it proved too cumbersome. Schroeder said he wanted engineering to work on projects only when direction was given from staff. Kohls asked if the � process was going well. Schroeder replied that there were more meetings between engineering and staff, and that things were going better. Work orders were not being used in every case. , '�, - Regular Meefing - November 3, 1999 Cottage Grove City Council Page 10 • Wolcott stated that a retainer should still be in place for a City Engineer. Denzer commented that he did not support in-house engineering. ADJOURNMENT MOTION BY DENZER, SECONDED BY WOLCOTT TO ADJOURN. MOTION CARRIED. 5-0. MEETING ADJOURNED AT 11:30 P.M. �(� R spectfully S mitted Neil Belscamper, Secr tary • �