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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1997/10/20 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Regular TY MINUTES STCI. Louis CITY COUNCIL MEETING PARK ST. LOUIS PARK, MINNESOTA October 20, 1997 1. Call to Order Mayor Dorfman called the meeting to order at 7 30 p.m. 2 Presentations Mayor Dorfman read a proclamation recognizing October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Mayor Dorfman, on behalf of the Council and City, recognized David Cera for his work on the Board of Zoning Appeals, and Jules Beck for his service on the Human Rights Commission 3. Roll Call The following Councilmembers were present at roll call Jeff Jacobs, Beverly Flanagan, Sue Sanger, Ron Latz, Robert Young, Jim Brimeyer, and Mayor Gail Dorfman. Also present were the City Manager(Mr Meyer), City Attorney(Mr. Scott); Deputy City Manager(Ms. Kutzler); Director of Community Development (Mr. Harmening); Economic Development Coordinator(Mr Anderson); Finance Director(Ms. McBride); City Clerk(Ms. Larsen); Director of Inspections (Mr Petersen) 4 Approval of minutes of October 6, 1997 Councilmember Sanger Page 152, 10th paragraph, change word "decision" to "discussion" Councilmember Latz complimented the transcription of the minutes on this item which he considered a somewhat convoluted and legally technical discussion 5. Approval of agenda for October 20, 1997 It was moved by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Brimeyer, to approve the consent agenda The motion passed 7-0 It was moved by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Sanger, to approve the agenda. The motion passed 7-0 PUBLIC HEARINGS 6a. First reading of an Ordinance amending City Charter Chapter 12 Proposed amendments to Chapter 12 Code of Ethics Ms. Kutzler briefly reviewed the proposed amendments. She noted that in order for the Ordinance to pass, an affirmative vote of all Councilmembers is required Councilmember Latz referenced Section 3 (Section 12 05. Use of Contributions) noting there is a proposed limit of$100 annually to any one charity. He asked how the funds which are left over in a campaign committee are to be disbursed It appeared if there were $1,000 left, it would have to be disbursed to 10 different charities ($100 each) Why this restriction He considered it a tying of the hands of a candidate, Councilmember or former Councilmember unnecessarily Ms. Kutzler recollected that the Charter Commission made an attempt to prevent any amount to go to one single charity The amount of$100 is used elsewhere in the Charter. Mayor Dorfman believed the State law pertaining to legislative races also has a similar cap of either $50 or$100 contribution to any single charity with leftover money Or it can be given to a political party committee or return it to the State, that this was part of the John Marty law. Councilmember Latz referenced Section 4 (Section 12 06 Campaign Reports), he asked for . clarification wherein in the first line"candidate" is deleted, but in the second paragraph it states " verified upon the oath of such candidate " Also, how can a personal campaign committee verify a report. The City Attorney agreed that striking of"candidate" in the first line should also have been struck in the narrative paragraph He felt the language should be "The report shall be verified upon the oath of the treasurer of the personal campaign committee and shall cover all transactions" Councilmember Latz referenced Section 4 (4)(a), end of first line should be"any" rather than "an", also in (a) and (b) he questioned the use of the commas which he felt made a clear understanding of the intent of the language questionable Mayor Dorfman suggested the Charter Commission might want to rewrite these two paragraphs for clarity of intent. Councilmember Latz referenced Section 6 (Section 12.18 Personal Financial Conflicts of Public Officials) and the suggested addition of language "Any vote pursuant to Minnesota Statute Section 471 88 must be unanimous by Council." He asked if that unanimity is with regard as to whether or not a conflict exists or whether it must be unanimous approval of the substantive contract itself. The City Attorney responded that both State Statute and City Code dealing with conflict do not address a determination of whether or not a Councilmember as a personal financial interest. Those provisions only address the vote on the contract by which on a vote on the motion of whether you enter into a contract that has a possible conflict Once the determination has been made, it is a subsequent vote on the actual contract for goods/services that invokes the unanimous vote requirement. Councilmember Young asked what happens if a Councilmember needs to abstain from a vote, doesn't it then become, in a sense, a"no" vote (not unanimous) Isn't this a catch 22 sort of situation? The City Attorney said there are different rules in effect for a Council vacancy, an absentee or an abstention situation The general rule has been that when one person abstain, it reduces the size -- so in effect if you have a 5-member Council, you would have a 4-member Council Mayor Dorfman said she assumed the concerns expressed will go back to the Charter Commission for review and thereafter return it to the Council Councilmember Flanagan read a section from the Minnesota Campaign Manual which is State Statute To paraphrase: The provisions of this section requiring the filing of reports are in addition to the provisions of any municipal Charter that requires the filing of reports She felt the proposed changes obfuscate an already confusing document because State Statute is a bit different from the Charter but what she just read indicates State law is in addition to City law On the filing of campaign reports, she would like to see the State Statute and Charter to agree In Section 4 (4), discussing reports required by Section 12 06(1) and (2), referencing the proposed addition in bold face, it seemed to her that if a candidate got $99 from one contributor(which does not exceed the cap of$100) would not have to list that contributor's name Councilmember Young had no problem with the $100 cap; listing every contribution less than that creates unnecessary paperwork and administrative detail Councilmember Sanger, referencing Section 12.05 Use of Contributions asked if the Charter Commission gave any consideration to the language of the Hennepin County's attorney on this issue, and if not she felt it might be something the Commission would want to consider Ms Kutzler said that was not discussed It was moved by Councilmember Brimeyer, seconded by Councilmember Jacobs, to send this item back to the Charter Commission for review of the comments raised by Council The motion passed 7-0 6b. Capstar BK Company: Application for on-sale intoxicating liquor and Sunday sale license 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 Young, seconded by Councilmember Jacobs, to approve the application for on-sale intoxicating and Sunday sale liquor licenses The motion passed 7-0 PETITIONS, REQUESTS, COMMUNICATIONS 7a. Variance appeal: 5911 Oxford St. Applicants seek modification to floor area, side yard setback and rear yard setback Councilmember Flanagan asked when the zoning was changed that made this property non- conforming. Mr Petersen said the Comp Plan changed the zoning designation in 1992 Councilmember Flanagan, referencing the BOZA report and staff report, said there seemed to be an inconsistency in whether the garage can be built to meet the setback. She asked if the applicant could build the garage on the non-conforming property if they met the required setback. She also believed common sense needed to prevail when the climate is taken into consideration Mr. Peterson felt that BOZA had a couple of issues it could have addressed. one the garage itself and whether or not it chose to permit the applicants to build a garage, secondly, the setback requirements -- if BOZA would have chosen to grant them one of the variances, the garage could be constructed and be in compliance with setback requirements It was moved by Councilmember Flanagan to authorize the variance and direct preparation of a resolution of approval. There being no second to the motion, it failed Applicants Mr. and Mrs Burt addressed the Council and briefly described their situation. Councilmember Jacobs asked if a garage were to be built, would it be possible to do it consistent with the setback requirements for the side and rear yards The Burts had no problem with this request Councilmember Brimeyer said the difficult question is the changes in the Comp Plan and Zoning Ordinance which keep returning to haunt Councils The vote has to be to uphold BOZA; otherwise there will continue to be a problem every time it comes up He believed some sort of process should have taken place wherein those who have gotten rezoned are made aware they have a problem Councilmember Sanger said she recalled, when as chair of the Planning Commission and the Comp Plan and Zoning Ordinance amendments were a large part of their business, that many people got the message of potential rezoning, many attended the meetings and wrote letters. She did not have a lot of sympathy for people now, after the fact, claiming not to know. Councilmember Flanagan believed that by having a variance process with appeal available to the Council, it does confer on the Council some power to make a decision one way or the other. Councilmember Jacobs said one looks at the statutory ordinance-based factors of whether or not a particular request for a variance meets the criteria If it does, you grant it, Wit doesn't, you don't. It was moved by Councilmember Brimeyer, seconded by Councilmember Young, to uphold the decision of the Board of Zoning Appeals to deny the variance request. The motion passed 6-1 (Councilmember Flanagan opposed). RESOLUTIONS AND ORDINANCES 8a. Victoria Ponds Third Addition: Final plat approval Resolution 97-138 It was moved by Councilmember Latz, seconded by Councilmember Sanger, to adopt Resolution 97-138 entitled "Resolution giving approval for final plat of Victoria Ponds 3rd Addition with certain variances to the platting requirements " The motion passed 7-0. 8b. Westwood Shopping Center: Almsted grocery proposal Councilmember Young said he had received hints that Bernie's was soon to close and had thought it would be good if Amsted's could come in there He was concerned that the neighborhood would be a risk should the store remain vacant He discussed elements of two proposals that had come to the City's attention. He believed the City would advocate creation of opportunities for not just this merchant but on a broader scope to become a partner in saving commercial neighborhood centers One approach would be to direct staff to create such a program, bring it to a study session for discussion. It was moved by Councilmember Young, seconded by Councilmember Flanagan, to direct staff to develop a set of guidelines and criteria for City-wide development fund loan program aimed at business preservation and retention, to be brought to the Council and EDA for discussion at an upcoming study session and also to direct staff at a later date to bring a proposed expansion of the targeted Excelsior Blvd. Rehab Loan Program to a study session. The motion passed 7-0 8c. First reading of Ordinance amending water/sewer utility rates for 1998 It was moved by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Brimeyer to waive first reading and set second reading for November 3, 1997 Councilmember Sanger asked if the rates are passed as proposed, adequate capital will not be built in, for at least this year, to do storm sewer improvements for at least another year She felt that given the significant storm sewer problems of this past summer, not to build in reserves for upgrade at this time may delay the ability to make necessary repairs for another year or longer. She questioned if this was a responsible decision. Mr Meyer said the budget before Council does not anticipate any major improvements to the storm sewer system. He said major engineering study needs to be undertaken to determine what is necessary What is intended is to look at those results in conjunction with doing the Surface Water Management Plan and then be able to put together a reasonable plan for addressing the problems of last summer Ms. McBride gave a brief overview of the elements involved in arriving at the percentage of increase as well as addressing those concerns raised by Councilmember Sanger She said there was adequate funding for storm sewer projects planned for the immediate future. The dilemma in the longer term is the need to develop a separate funding source separate from the sanitary sewer charges not in place. It was moved by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Brimeyer, to waive first reading and set second for November 3, 1997 The motion passed 6-1 (Councilmember Sanger opposed). 8d. 1997 Labor Agreement between the City and Law Enforcement Labor Services Local #220 itesolution 97-139 Councilmember Flanagan asked for clarification. in training time, is the 1 hour pay or 1 hour comp time per 8-hour assignment for trainers or trainees Mr Wysopal said it was for training of new dispatchers This has been a long-standing practice within the department It was moved by Councilmember Flanagan, seconded by Councilmember Jacobs, to adopt Resolution 97-139 entitled"Resolution approving the labor agreement between the City of St Louis Park and Law Enforcement Labor Services Local 220 establishing wages, benefits and terms and conditions of employment for 1998 " The motion passed 7-0 8e. Resolution authorizing acceptance of grant funds from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Resolution 97-140 By consent, Council adopted Resolution 97-140 entitled "Resolution authorizing acceptance of funds from the MN Department of Natural Resources REPORTS FROM OFFICERS,BOARDS, COMMITTEES 9a. Financial report for September 1997 96. Minutes: Planning Commission Sept. 17 9c. Minutes: Housing Authority September 10 By consent, items 9a-9c were received for filing UNFINISHED BUSINESS None NEW BUSINESS None MISCELLANEOUS None CLAIMS, APPROPRIATIONS, CONTRACT PAYMENTS 13a. Vendor claims By consent, claims were approved and payment was authorized 13b. Contract payments Final 1 B &B Sheet Metal, upgrade to MSC $ 38,939 20 Resolution 97-141 By consent, Council adopted the Resolution authorizing final payment Partial 1 Hardrives Inc, street/signal system improvements $ 181,118 74 By consent, Council approved and authorized partial payment 14 Communications From the Mayor: Mayor Dorfman said interviews of the 3 final candidates for Police Chief are to be held on Tuesday, October 21st at 7 30 p.m. in the Third Floor Conference ' Room From the City Manager None 15 Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 10.00 p m on a motion by Councilmember Jacobs seconded by Councilmember Sanger . The motion passed 7-0 I % Id A- ecbbS tu- ------, Mayor Gail Dorfman / 0 . Rec rding Secretary