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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1994/12/05 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Regular MINUTES II ADMINISTRATIVE HEARING ST. LOUIS PARK CITY COUNCIL December 5, 1994 1. Call to order Mayor Hanks called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. 2 Roll call The following Councilmembers were present at roll call: Jeff Jacobs, Ron Latz, Robert Young, Gail Dorfman and Lyle Hanks. Also present were the City Manager(Mr. Meyer); City Attorney(Mr. Sheehy); Police Chief(Mr. Mitchell). 3. Liquor license violation: Duggan's Mr. Meyer said Duggan's had offered a settlement agreement of the violation. He had suggested II to Duggan's attorney one of two options: The hearing would need to be postponed to a later point in time so both could be fully prepared to present all the facts in the case; or the City Council would consider the proposed settlement. He outlined the proposal before Council. He recommended the Council give favorable consideration to the settlement agreement. Police Chief Mitchell briefly described the violation and referenced his memo which gave a chronology of the background and events surrounding the violation. Councilmember Dorfman asked if the Council were precluded from assessing a penalty because . the ordinance does not specify it can. Mr. Sheehy said in its discretion the Council could choose that course of action and noted that on the Council agenda there is an item to amend the ordinance relative to penalties. Councilmember Dorfman asked if they paid a$500 fine now and there was another violation within the next six months and the hearing were reopened, that the $500 they would pay now would not be applied to any additional fine that might be charged later. Mr. Meyer said this would be up to the Council. Councilmember Latz referenced paragraph 3 in the proposed stipulation and noted one of the reasons for considering this settlement is that there might be some dispute that the conduct at Duggan's was a violation of law or of the liquor ordinance. That paragraph states "no violations of Minnesota Statutes in St. Louis Park liquor licensing ordinance" and he asked is the City, by that provision, allowing them to engage in this same conduct?Is there any way to stipulate no same or similar conduct will be permitted during the next six months? Mr. Sheehy felt the City Prosecutor would advise that Hennepin County made a decision based on certain felony considerations and that they did prosecute the case and have entered into a stipulation whereby there will be a plea of guilty. For purposes of this proceeding should it be reinstituted, he felt the guilty plea before Hennepin County would be germane to any Council consideration. Mr. Meyer was not comfortable changing the provisions of the stipulation agreement without the presence of a representative of Duggan's. It was moved by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Dorfman, to accept the settlement proposal and to authorize the City Manager and City Attorney to execute it in its present form. Mayor Hanks asked why was the period of time only six months?He felt it serious enough that it should remain in effect for one year. He felt Duggan's needed to be apprised of the fact that the City has major concerns about this incident. Councilmember Jacobs was comfortable with six months. The motion failed 3-2 (Councilmembers Jacobs, Young, Dorfman favor;Mayor Hanks, Councilmember Latz opposed). It was moved by Councilmember Latz that the suspension of prosecution period be until December 31, 1995 and all other terms of the stipulation agreement to remain the same. The motion died for lack of a second. Councilmember Young asked if there were a way the wording could be changed and come back to Council before there was a need for a hearing. Mr. Meyer said it was his understanding that if the Council were to oppose, for example, change the time period to a year and Duggan's was to agree to that, that the agreement could be redrafted, have Duggan's sign off on it and it would not have to come back again. If they did not agree to the change, then Duggan's would have to come back for a new proposal or for a hearing. He noted that the 1995 liquor license that has been issued runs through Dec. 15, 1995 and it probably didn't make sense to extend this time period beyond the license period. Councilmember Jacobs was uncomfortable changing the agreement without a representative of Duggan's present. Could staff go back and talk to Duggan's and ask them if they would be o.k. with a year and come back to Council. He would just as soon avoid a full blown hearing. 6. Excelsior Blvd. entry sign at Hwy. 100 Geoff Martin, DSU, showed a proposed entrance sign for Excelsior Blvd./Hwy. 100. Mayor Hanks asked how this sign would tie in with whatever sign Park Nicollet is planning but that is unknown at this time. Mr. Martin said the idea was to keep Excelsior Blvd. separate from the Park Nicollet campus. There was a suggestion this sign could be duplicated for the Minnetonka/Lake/Hwy 7 entrance as well, and also that some common element could be incorporated into this sign as well as the neighborhood signs. It was the consensus of Council to move forward with the design Mr. Martin presented. 7. Hwy. 7/Lake St.: N.E. quadrant The vacant land across from Reiss' restaurant is being offered to the City by the attorney who presently owns it. There is a$55,000 tax lien against the parcel and the possibility of contamination due to a previous gas station on the site. It was the consensus of Council to proceed cautiously in accepting the gift of the parcel, working with the EDA attorney to ensure that the City's liability exposure is understood before we get into the chain of title. 8. TIF and other special bill alternatives There has been a movement toward getting the Legislature to modify the statutes to make tax increment financing a more viable tool to deal with housing revitalization and redevelopment issues on a city-by-city basis. The State Legislature has approved special legislation in certain instances which has made TIF more viable. Mr. Hagen discussed two special TIF laws and a special service district law that would benefit St. Louis Park. Of special interest to St. Louis Park would be an extension of the Excelsior Blvd. District and legislation that would exempt the Park Nicollet Hazardous Substance Tax Increment District from the current State Aid penalty. Of benefit to the City would be the creation by special legislation of special service districts. This would allow for payment of special services rendered in certain parts of the City, i.e. maintenance costs for improvements in the Excelsior Blvd. Streetscape . It was the consensus of the Council that staff proceed with contacting the City's legislative representatives and requesting crafting of legislation prior to the commencement of the session in January. The study session adjourned at 9:25 p.m.