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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1993/02/01 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Regular (2) 4c IIIMINUTES CITY COUNCIL MEETING ST. LOUIS PARK, MINNESOTA February 1, 1993 1 . Call to order Mayor Hanks called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. 2. Presentations Mayor Hanks read a proclamation for Human Rights Month which was accepted by Patrick Devine, member of the Human Rights Commission. He invited all in attendance to attend the Expo. 3. Roll call The following Councilmembers were present at roll call : Jeff Jacobs, Allen Friedman, Larry Mitchell , Gail Dorfman and Lyle Hanks. Staff present were Interim City Manager (Clint Pires) , City Attorney (Lee Sheehy) , Dir. of Community Development (Dave Hagen) , Dir. of Public Works (Jim Grube) , Personnel Officer (Wally Wysopal ) . III 4. Approval of minutes It was moved by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Mitchell , to approve the minutes of the Jan. 11 , 1993 study session. The motion passed 5-0. It was moved by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Mitchell , to approve the minutes of the Jan. 19, 1993 City Council meeting. The motion passed 4-0-1 (Mayor Hanks abstained) . It was moved by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Mitchell , to approve the minutes of the Jan. 22, 1993 special City Council meeting. The motion passed 4-0-1 (Mayor Hanks abstained) . 5. Approval of agenda It was moved by Councilmember Mitchell , seconded by Councilmember Jacobs, to approve the consent agenda with the addition of the Cable TV franchise fee to 13a. The motion passed 5-0. It was moved by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Mitchell to approve the agenda for Feb. 1 , 1993 with the addition of llb. Benilde-St. Margaret drawing and lOb. Police station generator. The motion passed 5-0. PUBLIC HEARINGS 6a. Fill in floodplain Special permit request: 9311 , 9315 W. 23rd St. (Rick Bateson) Conrad Posz, 9307 W. 23rd St.=introduced a videotape of the area in question. 10. City Council meeting minutes Feb. 1 , 1993 After the videotape, the following individuals addressed Council to express their opposition to the applicant' s proposal : F. E. Porter, 9255 W. 23rd. ; Muriel Schuman, 9231 W. 23rd. ; Knut Wefald, 2448 Gettysburg Ave. So. ; Betty Ahlcrona, 9233 W. 22nd Lane and Jim Moffet, 1820 Independence Ave. So. Applicant Rick Bateson and John Parenteau spoke in favor of the proposal . There being no one further wishing to speak the Mayor closed the hearing. Councilmember Mitchell asked if there were any timelines involved. Mr. Hagen responded that there is not a deadline for taking action on this imposed either by the City' s zoning ordinance or by State statute. Councilmember Mitchell felt a number of legal issues have arisen. He felt it appropriate that the matter be referred to the City Attorney for review and clarification. He so moved and Councilmember Jacobs seconded. Mayor Hanks asked if the motion were passed, would the public hearing need to be reopened. It was the consensus to add opening of the public hearing to the motion with continuance scheduled for March 1 . Mayor Hanks noted another issue besides the 50 cubic yards of fill , that being why the DNR won't take any action until the City grants a permit. He would like to see this item resolved as it had been going on for so long. Also the question of who owns the strip of land over which there has been confusion. He hoped Mr. Bateson would be in contact with the City Attorney as they work through these III questions so everyone knows what is being talked about and what goes where. The motion passed 5-0. Mr. Sheehy noted that although he had taken many notes, there was obviously a great deal that had gone into the various presentations this evening and would request that to the extent they can be summarized in writing, it would be of assistance in an expeditious review. This included communications with various governmental agencies. 6b. Vacation: Portion of W. 28th St. Approx. 65 ft. east of Hwy. 169 There being no one wishing to speak, the Mayor closed the meeting with the right of Council to thereafter reopen and continue it at a future date. It was moved by Councilmember Mitchell , seconded by Councilmember Jacobs, to approve first reading, and set second reading for Feb. 16. Mayor Hanks noted that five votes are required for passage and the item should be continued to March 1 , 1993. 6c. Buffer yard requirements Amendment to Zoning Ordinance Section 6-1 .2.C(11 ) There being no one wishing to speak, the Mayor closed the hearing with the right of Council to thereafter reopen and continue it at a future date. It was moved by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by ,Councilmember Mitchell , to approve first reading and set second for March 1 , 1993. 11 . City Council meeting minutes Feb. 1 , 1993 III The motion passed 5-0. PETITIONS, REQUESTS, COMMUNICATIONS 7a. Community Involvement Program Mr. Pires noted an omission from the letter in front of Council wasthere are four homes in the City partipating in the shared housing project -- the letter only refers to one. Councilmember Dorfman asked if staff had any history on the other three homes. She was aware that the one home referenced has work well in the neighborhood context. Mayor Hanks would be interested to know how many cities have a similar program. Councilmember Mitchell asked if the purpose was to solicit public funds, private funds to show support. Mr. Pires said yes, that the program' s aim was to maintain a portfolio of letters of support. It was the consensus staff bring the requested information back to Council . 7b. Human Rights Expo sign It was moved by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Friedman, to approve placement of a sign advertising the Human Rights Expo on the Tower Place site. The motion passed 5-0. IIIRESOLUTIONS AND ORDINANCES 8a. Execution of City documents It was moved by Councilmember Ordinance No. 93-1908 Friedman, seconded by Councilmember Jacobs, to adopt Ordinance 93-1908 entitled "An ordinance amending the St. Louis Park Municipal Code, Section 2-105, "Presiding Officer" by the addition of subsection (b) authorizing the execution of official documents during the absence of the Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem." The motion passed 5-0. 8b. Transfer of funds - Salary adjustments First reading of ordinance It was moved by Councilmember Friedman, seconded by Councilmember Jacobs, to approve first reading, set second for Mar. 1 , 1993 and authorize summary publication. The motion passed 5-0. 8c. Hennepin groundwater plan It was moved by Councilmember Jacobs, Resolution 93-4 seconded by Councilmember Friedman, to adopt Resolution 93-4 (Alternative 3) entitled "Resolution stating the position of the City of St. Louis Park on the proposed Hennepin County Groundwater Plan" pending staff' s determination as to whether or not it is mandated by State Statute. III The motion passed 5-0. 12. City Council meeting minutes Feb. 1 , 1993 REPORTS FROM OFFICERS, BOARDS, COMMITTEES 9a. Park Hill neighborhood stop signs Councilmember Friedman said he spoke III to members of the neighborhood, none of whom could make the meeting tonight. However, people do stop there and he had some grave concerns about what would happen when the stop signs are removed. As long as no one has complained they are there, why remove them? Mayor Hanks asked that in order to keep them in place, something would have to come back to Council to that effect. Mr. Grube responded there would probably have to be some notification to the residents about the permanency of the stop signs. His department had received no support for removal of the signs -- all calls received support retention of the signs. It was moved by Councilmember Friedman, seconded by Councilmember Jacobs, to make the signs permanent. Mayor Hanks said he'd like to have a neighborhood meeting to let the residents know. Mr. Grube said in the past staff has foregone neighborhood meetings when it was evident the neighborhood was in strong support of a position. Generally they are given advance notice. Councilmember Friedman suggested sending a letter stating that unless staff hears otherwise, the signs will be permanent. It was moved by Councilmember Friedman, seconded by Councilmember Jacobs, that the signs become permanent on March 1 , 1993 unless a large complaint is heard from the neighborhood and that it will come to Council for formal action. The motion passed 5-0. 9b. 1993 special assessment rates It was moved by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Dorfman, retain the 1992 rate. The motion passed 5-0. 9c. Traffic study 465 By consent adopt Resolution 93-5 entitled Resolution 93-5 "Resolution establishing a taxi stand along the east side of Ottawa Ave. north of Excelsior Blvd. " 9d. Workers' Compensation legal representative It was moved by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Mitchell , to appoint Gilmore, Aafedt, Forde, Anderson & Gray, P.A. , as the City' s legal representative. The motion passed 5-0. III 13. City Council meeting minutes Feb. 1 , 1993 9e. Railroad noise issue It was moved by Councilmember Friedman, IIIResolution 93-6 seconded by Councilmember Jacobs to adopt Resolution 93-6 entitled "Resolution supporting legislation prohibiting railroad activities between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m." There was some question about using the word "activities." It was the consensus to insert the word "switching" in the third paragraph before the word "activities." The motion passed 5-0. 9f. 1992 Cable Communications Act Barry Schwabe, chair of the Citizens Cable TV Advisory Commission, addressed the Council . He said the Cable Commission and the City were at a crossroads now because of the Cable Act passed last Fall in Congress. Nortel , like every other good cable company in the country, has continued to increase its rates. He felt there were two things that could be done about rates and things the City has to consider: (1 ) outside of the state, 2 communities have challenged non-programming rates (installation, remote controls, disconnects, etc. ) In the City, Nortel believes it controls these rates as opposed to court decisions in the 2 communities which have challenged. The City needs to decide if it wants to take back this power. Secondly, the Cable Act. Communities will have the right to regulate basic cable rates; the FCC will have the right to regulate rates that are not basic, but IIIpay (HBO, Cinemax, etc. ) It was the unanimous decision of the Cable TV Commission to pursue these avenues available to it. He said he invited an attorney to speak to the Commission because of the need to have somebody knowledgable on cable issues brief the commission on what's ahead. Also, there are definite deadlines for action, some windows of opportunity in which the City can take certain action. The commission was unanimous in joining the consortium as set up by the attorney which had also come to the Council . He said Nortel had been requested to provide the City with a marginal cost study. Councilmember Mitchell said what he understood about the consortium was that the City would be generating a written position and there was some sentiment that the League is doing that anyway. What is the difference? Mr. Schwabe gave the example of NATOA was looking at rates from a cost average standpoint, looking at different size communities and see from the range what is reasonable. There was some disagreement at the MACTA conference in that since everybody has raised their rates, is the NATOA position valid. Another way of looking at it is what does it cost to supply the service and what is a reasonable margin to make. With a number of alternatives available, did the City just want to go along with the League. He thought the City would be better served by going through the process ourselves as part of the consortium. Councilmember Friedman felt Mr. Schwabe made some very valid points in terms of controlling our own destiny. He wondered what, at this point in time, did the City get for its money with the 11th hour coming up. He had no problem with Mr. IIISchwabe' s position. However, he would prefer to get the filing in with the League. It at least puts the City on record with the FCC. Thereafter, he would like a study session with the commission to go over its agenda, where it wants to go. He felt the Council , certainly himself, would be amenable to hiring professional help to guide the commission and City down this complex road. 14. City Council meeting minutes Feb. 1 , 1993 Councilmember Dorfman referenced the statement prepared by the League and felt it was broad enough to serve adequately in terms of making a statement. She was concerned that the attorney's consortium was out-State cities and perhaps was not the one the City should belong with. She agreed that time was needed. She would advocate version 2 of the letters prepared by staff. She would suggest, that at the end of the second paragraph, she would like to delete "State agencies." She felt the League statement clearly talks about giving municipalities the flexibility and regulatory power. She so moved and Councilmember Friedman seconded. Councilmember Mitchell felt the Council was late in taking action and hoped that Mr. Schwabe did not misread the Council ' s actions in not spending the funds at this point. He said he felt the Council read his remarks loud and clear, but felt the need to catch up first. The motion passed 5-0. Councilmember Friedman added that staff get together with the commission and at the earliest possible convenient time for both the Council and commission that a date be set so the two bodies can sit down in a study session and discuss eachothers positions. In the interim, all communications going to Council and the commission should go to all . He so moved and Councilmember Jacobs seconded. The motion passed 5-0. 9g. Planning Commission minutes Jan. 6, 1993 9h. Planning Commission minutes Jan. 20, 1993 9i . Human Rights Commission minutes Dec. 16, 1992 9j. December 1992 financial report Items 9g-9j filed by consent. UNFINISHED BUSINESS 10a. Boards and commissions It was moved by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Mitchell , to reappoint Stanley Barton to the Planning Commission. The motion passed 5-0. It was moved by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Mitchell to reappoint all members of the Building Construction Codes Advisory Commission and advertise for any openings. The motion passed 5-0. 10b. Police station emergency generator Councilmember Mitchell did not have a clear grasp of how to proceed. He felt an engineer needed to review and provide Council with a professional opinion. It was moved by Councilmember Mitchell to instruct staff to employ a licensed engineer to evaluate this situation and report back to Council with recommendations. 15. City Council meeting minutes Feb. 1 , 1993 III The motion died for lack of a second. Councilmember Jacobs asked if the City Engineer had looked at the report. His concern with the motion is employing somebody else. In trying to save money, do we really need to hire an outside consultant. He wondered if it couldn't be handled by staff. Mr. Pires responded that the generator study was looked at by the architect' s staff insofar as they are familiar with the building design. That staff could go further in evaluating the project which would involve time and cost. Councilmember Jacobs felt if staff was more comfortable having someone other than staff evaluate it further, he could support the motion. Mr. Larson said the technical information supplied in the report to Council was based on information supplied by an electrical engineer from the architect' s staff. Councilmember Dorfman said her reading of the report, based on what Mr. Larson said, is that the minimum option is an acceptable option. She didn't know why there was a need to look further. To clarify his concerns, Councilmember Mitchell said he would hate to see the Council be in the position of, having an emergency generator fail in 3-4 years, have a consultant/engineer say well , if you'd done it this way four years ago you wouldn't have this problem. He said he acknowledged he was not trained, not III knowledgable, not sophisticated enough to know the best option. He was not comfortable that options had been explored from a technical standpoint. Councilmember Friedman said it did not seem prudent to spend half a million dollars which will amortize over 52 years -- 52 years is a long time and there will probably be better electrical service before that. He was concerned that these decisions always seem to lag behind after a project is underway. He did not see the need for the most expensive generator when the small number of past outages did not seem to justify it. Mayor Hanks preferred to defer the matter to March 1 when all 7 Councilmembers are present and to have the engineer from the architect' s firm come to talk to Council . Councilmember Friedman said if the engineer was to visit with Council , he wanted a detailed, specific report prior to such meeting -- no ifs or maybes. NEW BUSINESS lla. Bid tabulation One 1-ton, 4 x 4 cab dual rear wheel cab chassis truck By consent, designate Thane Hawkins Polar Chevrolet as lowest responsible bidder and authorize execution of a contract for $23,336. III llb. Benilde St. Margaret raffle application It was moved by Councilmember Friedman, seconded by Council- member Jacobs to approve the request and waive the 30-day waiting period. The motion passed 5-0. 16. City Council meeting minutes Feb. 1 , 1993 MISCELLANEOUS 12a. Damaga claim Karen Davis Kasid By consent, claim referred to City Clerk and City Manager. 12b. Communications from the Mayor Councilmember Dorfman said Senator Mondale would like to speak to Council on metro issues. His staff will confirm a date. Mayor Hanks said the representative on the Hennepin Parks Commission wished to meet with Council . He suggested staff follow up with that perhaps in April . He encouraged Councilmembers to attend the AMM legislative reception on Feb. 10. 12c. Communications from Interim City Manager Mr. Pires called Council 's attention to a report from Mr. Grube on follow-up to the Cedar Lake Rd. open house. CLAIMS, APPROPRIATIONS, CONTRACT PAYMENTS 13a. Verified claims Mr. Pires noted a claim relative to the School District had been removed at Mr. Joel Brand's request. Mr. Hanks said no action was needed if they wanted to wait for the School District. The remainder of the verified claims were passed by consent. 13b. Contract payments 1 . Final : Valley Paving - grading, bituminous paving, curb & gutter. Amount: $20, 741 .87 (Resolution 93-7) 2. Final : NewMech - Well No. 4 reconditioning: Amount: $1 ,029.99 (Resolution 93-8) By consent resolutions approving were passed. 3. Partial : Adolfson & Peterson - police station. Amount: $311 ,472.23 4. Partial : Wickenhauser Excavation - Bass Lake channel dredging. Amount: $18,002.50 5. Partial : C. S. McCrossan - T.H. 7/Louisiana Ave. intersection. Amount: $28,529.84 By consent, approve and authorize payment. 14. Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 9:50 p.m. ° (( ~fir 'ecording Secretary 17.