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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1991/11/18 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Regular III MINUTES CITY COUNCIL MEETING ST. LOUIS PARK, MINNESOTA November 18, 1991 1 . Call to order Mayor Hanks called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. 2. Roll call The following Councilmembers were present at roll call : Jeff Jacobs, George Haun, Allen Friedman, Keith Meland, Jane Tschida and Lyle Hanks. Councilmember Mitchell arrived at 7:05 p.m. Also present were the City Manager, City Attorney, Director of Public Works, Director of Community Development, Director of Finance, Asst. Dir. of Finance and City Assessor. 3. Approval of minutes It was moved by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Haun, to approve the minutes of the Oct. 23, 1991 zoning public hearing. The motion passed 4-0-2 (Councilmembers Meland and Tschida abstained) . It was moved by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Haun, to approve the minutes of the Nov. 4, 1991 study session. The motion passed 6-0. It was moved by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Haun, to approve the minutes of the Nov. 4 City' Council meeting with a correction: Item 4, Councilmember Jacobs did not abstain . The motion passed 6-0. It was moved by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Tschida, to approve the minues of the special City Council meeting Nov. 12, 1991 . The motion passed 6-0. It was moved by Councilmember Haun, seconded by Councilmember Jacobs, to approve the minutes of the Nov. 12, 1991 Long Range Planning session. The motion passed 5-0-1 (Councilmember Meland abstained) . 4. Approval of agenda It was moved by Councilmember Meland, seconded by Councilmember Tschida, to approve the consent agenda for Nov. 18, 1991 . The motion passed 6-0. It was moved by Councilmember Haun, seconded by Councilmember Jacobs, to approve the Nov. 18, 1991 agenda with the following additions: lla. Setting meetings 111 for Jan. , Feb. , Mar. 1992; llb. Cable TV. The motion passed 6-0. PUBLIC HEARINGS 6a. Proposed 1992 budget The City Manager _presented brief budget comments to the Council . -166- • City Council minutes November 18, 1991 The following individuals addressed the Council : Harold Laterman, 2649 Inglewood; Gene Szermanski , 3916 Brunswick; Mr. Potter, property owner of 3480 Zarthan; Sam Nilva, 3541 Glenhurst; Al Rogalla, 5725 W. Lake St. III The majority of the speakers addressed property taxes. Councilmember Friedman said he had suggested a freeze on property taxes at a certain point which would hold until the homeowner sells or passes away and the property has to be sold at which time a differential in taxes, a lesser amount, would be paid. He said the County Assessor was not interested in such an idea. It was moved by Councilm'ember - Meland, seconded by Councilmember Jacobs, to continue the hearing to Dec. 4, 1991 , approve first reading of the ordinance, set second reading for Dec. 4 and authorize summary publication. The motion passed 7-0. PETITIONS, REQUESTS, COMMUNICATIONS 7a. Request of Walser Ford re proposed zoningIII Peter Beck addressed Council on behalf of- Walser Ford. He said a couple of months ago it came to Walser's attention that the proposed zoning ordinance would make it a non-conforming use and require termination of business within 10 years. It was their suggestion to rezone that corner of the Hwy. 100/W. 36th interchange as C-2 making it consistent with the other three corners of the interchange. The Planning Commission unanimously concurred. This will come before Council for final action next year. He said the current zoning is Industrial and an auto dealer not allowed. The significance of this is it makes the property subject to the moratorium. This would not be a problem except that Walser is in the midst of a remodeling project -- demolishing a one showroom and expanding the space. In order for remodeling to continue, staff and the City Attorney have recommended the Council officially designate the proposed zoning to be C-2. He said Walser understands this is not a final action of the Council . That action will be when the final ordinance and map are enacted on. The solution for Walser may be something different. It was moved by Councilmember Haun, seconded by Councilmember Friedman, to change the zoning to C-2 and lift the moratorium on redevelopment of the site. The motion passed 7-0. Councilmember Tschida wondered if it should stay PUD. Councilmember Haun said Walser should not then have been allowed to do anyIII remodeling. -167- Councilmember Friedman asked the record to reflect that the representative ill from Walser has said they would not object if the zoning were kept at PUD. Mr. Beck concurred, stating as long as the PUD would allow them to continue to operate their business. RESOLUTIONS AND ORDINANCES 8a. Recycling Application to Hennepin County for funding Resolution 91-207 of residential curbside recycling program in 1992 It was moved by Councilmember Meland, seconded by Councilmember Jacobs, to adopt Resolution 91-207 entitled "Resolution authorizing execution of an agreement between the City of St. Louis Park and Hennepin County for funding assistance for a residential curbside recycling program in 1992." The motion passed 7-0. 8b. Improvement at Cedar Knoll Park First reading of ordinance Councilmember Friedman had a number of questions: What is the frequency of use of concession shelters? Can the general public use them? What is the Baseball Association? What percentage of time does the Baseball Assoc. use it? Are there other concession stands and who gets the money? The City Manager answered his questions. III Councilmember Friedman's concern was that groups other than City-sponsored were accruing financial benefit but pay nothing for it. Councilmember Haun said the Baseball Assoc. was an offshoot of Parks and Recreat- ion. It takes care of an age group Parks and Rec does not serve. Money derived from concession sales are put back into field upkeep and uniforms. Non-residents do pay a fee to use the field. It was moved by Councilmember Meland, seconded by Councilmember Tschida, to approve first reading, set second for Dec. 4, 1991 and authorize summary publicat- ion. The motion passed 6-0-1 (Councilmember Friedman abstained) . REPORTS FROM OFFICERS, BOARDS, COMMITTEES 9a. Item removed by staff 9b. Item removed at request of applicant. Moved by Councilmember Meland, seconded IIIby Councilmember Tschida to remove. Approved 7-0. 9c. Zoning ordinance issues Status report It was moved by Councilmember Mitchell , seconded by Councilmember Jacobs, to refer the list of zoning ordinance issues to the Nov. 25 Long Range Planning session. The motion passed 7-0. 9d. Neighborhood Revitalization Committee Councilmember Tschida liked the course the committee was taking and reinforced her vision of how this would work. She wanted to note that a representative from III Minneapolis who had spoken to them suggested the Task Force stay away from social programs. She concurred the committee should not get involved in the same kind of program Minneapolis does, but she would encourage their involvement in social programs from the point of view of neighbor-to-neighbor, helping neighbor kinds of projects. It was moved by Councilmember Tschida, seconded by Councilmember Jacobs, to receive for filing. The motion passed 7-0. 9e. Rotary proposal Community art project Councilmember Haun noted the City was not committed to any funding at this point. It was moved by Councilmember Mitchell , seconded by Councilmember Tschida, to proceed with further consideration and appoint a Council representative to serve on the steering committee. The motion passed 6-1 (Councilmember Friedman opposed) . Councilmember Tschida volunteered to serve on the steering committee. 9f. October 1991 financial report 9g. Park and Recreation minutes Nov. 13 9h. Building Construction Codes Advisory Committee minutes Nov. 6, 1991 9i . Housing Authority minutes Oct. 8, 1991 Items 9f-9i ordered filed by consent. UNFINISHED BUSINESS 10a. Boards and commissions No business NEW BUSINESS ila. Meeting schedule Mayor Hanks was proposing to move Jan. , Feb. and Mar. 1991 study sessions to the Tuesday following the first Monday meeting of those months. It was so moved by Councilmember Mitchell , seconded by Councilmember Friedman. The motion passed 7-0. -169- i� i i City Council meeting minutes November 18, 1991 III llb. Cable TV Councilmember Friedman referenced a letter received from Nortel Cable in which they state the rate for basic cable service will increase $1 .00, from $19.00 to $20.00/mo. commencing Jan. 1992. He did not believe cable customers were receiving full value for their dollars. Councilmember Friedman asked that the City's Cable Commission be asked to bring to Council information about how Nortel is containing costs. Mayor Hanks agreed but felt a better source would be to have letters sent to the Senate and House of Representatives, both of which are considering bills to return control of cable franchises back to the cities. It was moved by Councilmember Friedman, seconded by Councilmember Jacobs, to direct staff to prepare a letter embodying the position of the City Council to Congress and copy the City's Cable TV Commission, specifically requesting that control over fees be given to the city within which the francise is located. The motion passed 7-0. Harking back to a comment re the City's interest in taking over control of the cable system (discussed at a study session but not pursued), Councilmember Mitchell noted decertification would be involved with the attendant attorney' s III fees. Also, the City would have to establish cause, to prove what standards were not met. He did not feel taking over the system was realistic. He felt control of fees was tricky and he had no interest in getting involved in programming. He thought a better path to pursue would require more openess of the cable company as to what their costs really are. Councilmember Jacobs would want to hear why there is a fee increase - what has caused them to go up to $20. It was his sense that if they could justify it, they ought to get the $1 .00; if they can't justify it, they shouldn't get it. He would not want to see the City/Council get involved in the cable television business. Councilmember Friedman asked that Nortel be copied on the letter. MISCELLANEOUS 12. Damage claims Yakov Shurslep Steven Grossman Diane Stadsvold By consent, claims referred to City Manager and City Clerk. 12b. Communications from the Mayor Mayor Hanks said Hennepin County is establishing a solid waste management advisory committee and openings exist for elected public officials. 12c. Communications from City Manager None. -170- City Council minutes November 18, 1991 CLAIMS, APPROPRIATIONS, CONTRACT PAYMENTS III 13a. Verified claims By consent, the list of verified claims prepared by the Director of Finance dated November 18, 1991 was approved in the following amounts: Vendor claims: $448,492.63 and payroll claims $21 ,881 .43 and the City Manager and City Treasurer authorized to issue checks in the appropriate amounts. 14. Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 8:28 p.m. 6' isir4-, Mayor ecording Secretary III III -171-