HomeMy WebLinkAbout1985/02/25 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Study SessionMINUTES
CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION
ST. LOUIS PARK, MINNESOTA
February 25, 1985
1. Call to Order
Mayor Hanks called the study session to order at 7:05 p.m.
2. Roll Call
The following Council members were present at roll call: Keith Meland,
Thomas Duffy, Jerrold Martin, Ronalo Backes, Larry Mitchell ana Lyle Hanks.
3. Communications from the Mayor
Mayor Hanks informed Council that he was in receipt of a letter from Metropo
itan Council representative Dolly Rietow requesting a meeting to discuss
issues and get acquainted. Council agreed to extend Ms. Rietow an invitation
to meet at 6:45 p.m. on Monday, March 4.
4. Small Business IRBs
The City Manager provided Council with some background information about
the proposed program of funding small and medium-sized business improvements
through industrial revenue bonds. Councilman Backes stated that the procedure
of contacting all the businesses and administering the program might be
a difficult task which may not yield significant tax revenues. Councilman
Martin supported the proposed program stating that several small businesses
in St. Louis Park might be unable to fund improvements without governmental
assistance. The City Manager stated that the funding would be primarily
for existing businesses and would be allowed only for use in rehabilitation
projects rather than expansion of condemnation of existing buildings.
Councilmen Backes and Martin asked that staff be directed to proceed with
the proposed program.
5. Discussion of Water Situation
Councilman Mitchell initiated a discussion of the current status of the
City's negotiations with the EPA, the PCA and Reilly Tar and Chemical
Co. He stated that some assumptions, which have surfaced during the course
of negotiations, have not been validated, but there appears to be no strategy
to date and that the City should develop a cohesive plan for action to
remedy the water problem.
Mayor Hanks provided the Council with background information dating back
to 1971-72 during which the EPA and the PCA were primary agents in the
affair and the City played a minor role. Councilman Backes, the City Manager
and the City Attorney supplemented the Mayor's comments with additional
background information which included reference to
the City's position paper entitled "Terminating an Endless Search" and
the ERT report which was commissioned by Reilly.
The City Attorney provided additional information about the History of
thn hold-harmles, agreeinont :ihich was i gni li then the City purch.c od the
property (now known as Oak Park Village) from Reilly for approximately
$2 million. He stated that Reilly had requested the City to provide a
hold -harmless agreement until such time as the State of Minnesota would
be willing to discontinue its lawsuit against Reilly for contamination
of the site. He also stated that for a variety of reasons, the City's
current liability resulting from the original hold -harmless agreement
appears to be manageable.
In response to a question from Mayor Hanks, the City Attorney responded
that if negotiations prove unsuccessful, the first phase of a court trial
with Reilly was originally scheduled to begin in April 1985 with a second
phase scheduled for the fall of 1985. He also stated that due to court
backlogs it was likely those dates were no longer accurate and that the
trial would actually be scheduled for some time later.
The City Manager stated that the current strategy for resolution of the
water problem evolved over a period of years and had not been thoroughly
planned. In response to a statement from Councilman Mitchell that the
City should have been better prepared to handle this issue, Councilman
Backes stated that St. Louis Park's water problem had been the first of
its kind to appear in the state and that the PCA was learning from its
experience as it dealt with the issues in St. Louis Park. Mayor Hanks
stated that his main concern was to have the carbon treatment plant operating
and that once that was done, other negotiations could continue.
The City Manager agreed with the concern of several Council members and
suggested that it was now time to take stock of the situation. He offered
a three-part proposal for Council consideration that would provide more
insight into the history of the problem and possibly some direction as
to what action should be taken. The proposal's three parts include: a chronology
of the overall history of the water problem events dating back to the
early 1970s; a chronology of the negotiation proceedings between Reilly,
the PCA and the EPA; and a timeline for implementing the actions identified
in the existing administrative order. Councilman Mitchell agreed with
the proposal and suggested that it also include review dates and references
to written news coverage of the problem.
Councilman Martin stated that the water problem is a concern of the City
but that current testing methods have shown St. Louis Park drinking water
standards to be acceptable and that the problem could be dealt with in
the normal course of events. Mayor Hanks stated that he could see valid
points in the proposals presented by Councilmen Mitchell and Strohl and
that he would like to follow through with the City Manager's proposal.
5. Sewer and Water Rate adjustments
Finance Director Harlan Syverson presented Council with information about
recommended sewer and water rate adjustments derived from the recently -completed
Black and Veatch report.
Councilman Mitchell reported that the City's water conservation committee
was disappointed that the Black and Veatch report had not given more considera-
tion to seasonally adjusted rates. He also stated that it was the committee's
opinion that water restrictions should be considered and that an education
program stressing conservation measures should be an issue to be funded.
3.
Councilman Backes suggested that staff be given direction to prepare the
necessary legislation to initiate all recommendations for rate adjustments
and Read -O-Matic installation that were identified in the staff report.
Mayor Hanks asked if staff had prepared a plan to deal with potentially
heavy responses to the request for voluntary ROM installation. Mr. Syverson
responded that all residents requesting ROM installations would be put
on a work list and billed only after their meter had been installed. Councilman
Mitchell asked that along with staff's recommendations, Council consider
an educational program stressing water conservation and postponement of
a $20 penalty for accounts that do not provide water meter readings until
staff has had an opportunity to adequately inform residents of the adjustments
and changes. A majority of the Council supported approval of the recommenda-
tions and authorized staff to prepare the necessary legislation for the
upcoming City Council meeting.
6. Adjournment
The study session was adjourned at 9:10 p.m.
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Recording Secretary
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Hanks
Mayor