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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1995/11/20 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Regular (2) 01 ` MINUTES HEARING ON DELINQUENT ASSESSMENTS, ST. LOUIS PARK CITY COUNCIL ii i November 20, 1995 Mayor Hanks called the hearing to order at 7 00 p m Present were Councilmembers Jeff Jacobs, George Haun, Sue Sanger, Robert Young and Lyle Hanks Also present were the City Manager(Mr Meyer), the City Assessor (Mr Stepnick), Utility Superintendent (Mr Anderson), Finance Director(Ms. McBride), Asst Finance Director (Mr Felton) Mr Meyer explained that the City sends notices out to all delinquent accounts inquiring if they would like a hearing Based on the responses returned, only one resident will be appearing, Cal Lundquist, 3601-3603 Kipling Ave Mr Lundquist addressed Council He said his letter presented his grievance, i e a water line in front of his property ruptured, a line connecting the water main in the City street to his property The City repaired the line and street. Thereafter Mr. Anderson and Mr Felton of City staff Ili discussed with Mr Lundquist the efforts of the City to place a charge for the repair against his property Councilmember Jacobs said it was his recollection that if a waterline ruptures underneath City- owned property, the City repairs, if the breaks on the property owner's property, it is their responsibility. Mr Meyer said it was not a watermain break, but a break in the water service between the main and the shutoff. Section 9-110 of the Code provides that the cost of original installation of all plumbing between the main and the curb and between the curb and the meter as well as repairs to same shall be borne entirely by the consumer Councilmember Young said Mr Lundquist's most recent letter did not seem to be contesting the facts of the situation as his prior letter had and did he still feel the ordinance was unjust Mr Lundquist said the real issue, as he perceived it, is that the homeowner understands what his property is from the title search when he purchases When he purchased his property, there was no indication that he owned something that was on City property He reiterated that the ordinance is unjust wherein if money is not provided for repairs such as he had, the City should raise additional monies to cover such contingencies Mayor Hanks asked if Mr Anderson knew how many other cities had a similar ordinance to that of St Louis Park 1 illMr Anderson said he had called some 12 cities and it was split even - 6 do, 6 don't II Councilmember Haun said it appeared there was concern with the ordinance that is in place. He would like to have the matter placed on a study session agenda and find out how other cities handle this. Councilmember Sanger said she could understand why there might be discussion regarding the future of the ordinance, but she didn't think any future changes in the ordinance would be applied retroactively to the bill due by the resident She did not think any study of the ordinance should prohibit the Council from making a decision with respect to this resident as the current ordinance still is applicable Councilmember Young agreed with Councilmember Sanger and also said timeframe issues are involved -- doesn't the County need to be advised of this assessment and can that wait Mayor Hanks said Council was hearing a protest of an assessment which will be voted on later on in the meeting It will either be added to the roll going to the County against the property or not He did not believe this was the appropriate time to make a decision Councilmember Jacobs said he'd like to look at it further If the City intends to assess Mr Lundquist, it didn't make sense to him He would like staff to research and bring back, possibly to a study session, how is the City assessing for water service -- is the assessment for the line and the main, is the assessment for the line from where it goes to the main up into the meter? If so, breakage in their yard should not be assessed It was his sense that if people are being charged for waterlines on their utility bills, they ought not be charged again for a break in the line Mr Meyer noted, as clarification, that the City does not pay nor does it assess the cost of the line from the watermain in the street to the house That cost is all borne by the property owner at the time of installation According to the ordinance any repairs to the line are borne by the property owner. Maintenance of the watermains is a City cost and charged back to all water users Councilmember Jacobs understood that when water service is installed, it was installed by a plumber at the property owner's expense. His question dealt with the taxes that people have been paying on that water line and the water delivered to their house -- how is that done and what are the underlying assumptions re the charges assessed against the property Councilmember Sanger referenced the list of repair and replacement permits of residential units She asked how many of those listed were breaks which have occurred subsequent to the date of the Mr Lundquist's waterline break and would it be a correct assumption that all of these people have paid their own repair bills on these lines Mr Anderson said they were breaks between the main and the house Mayor Hanks said this item will be addressed on the Council agenda 2 Mayor Hanks adjourned the meeting on the hearing at 7 22 p m. 6) • /Lk' M or Hanks W.-P ,i,fiAA" k Recording Secretary I 3