HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010/10/18 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Regular If! St. Louis Park OFFICIAL MINUTES
MINNESOTA CITY COUNCIL MEETING
ST. LOUIS PARK, MINNESOTA
OCTOBER 18, 2010
1. Call to Order
Mayor Jacobs called the meeting to order at 7:35 p.m.
Councilmembers present: Mayor Jeff Jacobs, Phil Finkelstein (arrived at 7:39 p.m.), Anne Mavity,
Paul Omodt,Julia Ross, Susan Sanger, and Sue Santa.
Councilmembers absent: None.
Staff present: City Manager (Mr. Harmening), Deputy City Manager/Human Resources Director
(Ms. Gohman), City Attorney (Mr. Scott), City Clerk (Ms. Stroth), Inspections Director (Mr.
Hoffman), Inspection Services Manager (Ms. Boettcher), Police Chief(Mr. Luse), Police Lieutenant
(Ms. Dreier), Finance Accountant (Ms. Monson), Controller (Mr. Swanson), Finance Supervisor
(Mr. Heintz), Parks and Recreation Director (Ms. Walsh), and Recording Secretary (Ms. Hughes).
1 a. Pledge of Allegiance
1 b. Roll Call
2. Presentations - None
3. Approval of Minutes
3a. Study Session Meeting Minutes September 13, 2010
The minutes were approved as presented.
3b. City Council Meeting Minutes September 20, 2010
The minutes were approved as presented.
3c. Study Session Minutes September 27, 2010
Councilmember Sanger requested that seventh paragraph on page 4 be revised to state
"Councilmember Sanger requested information regarding the work of MCWDante
the cattails at Bass Lakc and to remedy the stink at Twin Lakes."
The minutes were approved as amended.
3d. Special Study Session Minutes October 4, 2010
The minutes were approved as presented.
City Council Meeting -2- October 18, 2010
3e. City Council Minutes October 4, 2010
Councilmember Mavity requested that the first paragraph on page 7 be revised to state
"Councilmember Mavity stated that the intent of the ordinance amendment has always been
to have the benefits and money accrue to the residents and nonprofits
rofits-in the City."
The minutes were approved as amended.
4. Approval of Agenda and Items on Consent Calendar
NOTE: The Consent Calendar lists those items of business which are considered to be routine
and/or which need no discussion. Consent items are acted upon by one motion. If discussion is
desired by either a Councilmember or a member of the audience, that item may be moved to an
appropriate section of the regular agenda for discussion.
4a. Adopt second reading of Ordinance No. 2391-10 amending the Zoning Ordinance
relating to political signs contained in the agenda materials, and approve the
summary ordinance contained in the agenda materials for publication.
4b. Adopt Resolution No. 10-108 authorizing the special assessment for the repair of
the water and sewer service lines at 3039 Alabama Avenue So., St. Louis Park, MN -
P.I.D. 16-117-21-21-0050.
4c. Adopt Resolution No. 10-109 authorizing the special assessment for the repair of
the water service line at 2913 Texa-Tonka Avenue, St. Louis Park, MN - P.I.D. 07-
117-21-44-0042.
4d. Adopt Resolution No. 10-110 Authorizing Final Payment in the Amount of
$121,144.30, including Change Order No. 4 in the amount of$11,500.00, for Park
Place Boulevard Improvement Project, City Project No. 2007-1101 - Contract No.
72-08.
4e. Adopt Resolution No. 10-111 amending Resolution No. 10-092, adopted on
September 7, 2010, approving designation of nonconservation land shown on
classification list "1528 C/NC" by Board of County Commissioners of Hennepin
County.
4f. Adopt Resolution No. 10-112 supporting Environmental Response Fund (ERF)
grant application to Hennepin County.
4g. Adopt Resolution No. 10-113 authorizing final payment in the amount of
$3,800.00 and accepting completion of the earth work for the 2008 redevelopment
project at Fern Hill Park with G L Contracting, Inc., Project No. 20080070, City
Contract No. 112-08.
4h. Adopt Resolution No. 10-114 ordering the abatement of the hazardous excavation
condition located at 2837 Ottawa Avenue South.
4i. Approve for Filing Planning Commission Minutes August 18, 2010.
4j. Approve for Filing Police Advisory Commission Minutes September 1, 2010.
4k. Approve for Filing Parks & Recreation Advisory Commission Minutes August 18,
2010.
City Council Meeting -3- October 18, 2010
41. Approve for Filing Vendor Claims.
It was moved by Councilmember Santa, seconded by Councilmember Sanger, to approve the
Agenda as presented and items listed on the Consent Calendar; and to waive reading of all
resolutions and ordinances.
The motion passed 6-0(Councilmember Finkelstein absent).
5. Boards and Commissions - None
6. Public Hearings
6a. Public Hearing— On-sale intoxicating and Sunday liquor license—Applebee's
Ms. Stroth presented the staff report and advised that Apple' Minnesota, LLC recently
purchased all of the Applebee's restaurants in Minnesota; as such, the Applebee's located at
8332 Highway 7 is required to apply for a new on-sale intoxicating liquor license to cover
the remaining term of the current license, through March 2011. She also indicated that the
same staff and procedures would remain the same with the change in ownership of
Applebee's.
Mayor Jacobs opened the public hearing. No speakers present. Mayor Jacobs closed the
public hearing.
It was moved by Councilmember Santa, seconded by Councilmember Sanger, to approve the
on-sale intoxicating liquor license with Sunday sales to Apple Minnesota, LLC, dba
Applebee's Neighborhood Bar&Grill located at 8332 Highway?within Knollwood Mall in
Si-. Louis Park for the license term through March 1, 2011.
The motion passed 7-0.
7. Requests, Petitions, and Communications from the Public— None
8. Resolutions, Ordinances, Motions and Discussion Items
8a. Second Reading- Gambling Ordinance Amendments
Ordinance No. 2392-10
Ms. Stroth presented the staff report and stated that following the first reading of the
ordinance amendments on October 4th staff explored, at the council's request, the possibility
of imposing a flat fee local tax in lieu of the 1.25 percentage local tax. She advised that the
City Attorney has stated that the flat fee can be done as long as no more than $3,000 per
location or 3%of gross proceeds are collected.
City Council Meeting -4- October 18, 2010
Mitch Speicher, St. Louis Park Hockey Boosters gambling manager, expressed his thanks to
the City Council for giving consideration to a flat fee. He requested further information
regarding the City's expenses to cover charitable gambling and questioned the amount of
City staff time required to administer the charitable gambling operations in the City.
Ms. Gohman stated that the City's administrative expenses related to charitable gambling
include not only staff time, but also the police department's time in conducting background
investigation and compliance checks.
Mayor Jacobs stated that the Council has reviewed the charitable gambling tax in prior years
and at one time, the charitable gambling tax was lowered. He added that the City reviews its
fees each year to make sure the fees charged are in line with actual costs.
Ms. Gohman stated that the City has a limited amount of charitable gambling in the City
and it is not anticipated that additional charitable gambling operations will be added in the
near future. She added that because of the limited number of charitable gambling operations,
staff is comfortable with trying the flat fee approach and then reviewing it each year to see if
adjustments are required.
It was moved by Councilmember Finkelstein, seconded by Councilmember Omodt, to
adopt Ordinance No. 2392-10 alternate ordinance with flat fee local tax option amending
Chapter 15 of the St. Louis Park Code of Ordinances relating to Gambling.
The motion passed 7-0.
8b. First Reading— Franchise Fee Ordinance Amendments
Mr. Heintz presented the staff report and explained that the franchise fees are used to fund
the City's Pavement Management Program. He stated that the franchise fees were first
adopted by the Council in 2004 and since that time, the fees have not increased. He
indicated that in 2009, it was determined that the Pavement Management Fund was not
sustainable for ten years, so the franchise fees are proposed to be increased by $0.75/month
per utility to residential customers.
Councilmember Sanger stated that the franchise fees are essential to keep the Pavement
Management Fund operational and saves the City a lot of money by keeping the roads in
good repair.
It was moved by Councilmember Sanger, seconded by Councilmember Ross, to approve
First Reading of an Ordinance Amending and Restating Ordinance No. 2244-03 Imposing a
Franchise Fee on Xcel Energy, a Minnesota Corporation, its successors and assigns,pursuant
to Franchise Ordinance No. 2086-97 Section 9-610.
The motion passed 7-0.
City Council Meeting -5- October 18, 2010
It was moved by Councilmember Sanger, seconded by Councilmember Ross, to approve
First Reading of an Ordinance Amending and Restating Ordinance No. 2245-03 Imposing a
Franchise Fee on Centerpoint Energy Minnegasco, Inc., a Minnesota Corporation, its
successors and assigns,pursuant to Franchise Ordinance No. 2236-03, Section 7.1.
The motion passed 7-0.
8c. 2nd Reading of an Ordinance Amending Section 8-33 for Business License Fees
and Adopting Sections 8-333 and 8-334 regarding Multi-family Rental
Licensing Provisions
Ordinance No. 2393-10
Mr. Hoffman presented the staff report and stated that following the first reading on
October 4th, staff met with representatives of two apartment owners as well as the Minnesota
Multi-Housing Association to discuss their concerns and questions. He advised changes
have been made to Sec. 8-333(b) by adding "and the incident is connected to the licensed
premises" to clarify that the activity can be considered a police contact; in addition, Sec. 8-
333(e) has been amended to add the word "unauthorized" before guests.
Lisa Peilen, 2816 Glenhurst, appeared before the City Council on behalf of the Minnesota
Multi-Housing Association and expressed the Association's appreciation to City staff,
particularly Mr. Hoffman, Ms. Boettcher, Chief Luse, and Lt. Dreier, for their willingness to
meet with them and incorporate their suggested revisions.
Jeff Fine, Fine Management of Minnesota, 6215 West Lake Street, appeared before the City
Council and expressed concern that the Council would be amending an ordinance that he
felt was inequitable, discriminatory, and unreasonable. He stated there appears to be an
inequitable judging of police contact with one standard for 3-11 units and another standard
for 12+ units, and he did not understand why units should not all be judged the same. He
also expressed concern that the ordinance holds him responsible as a property
manager/landlord to control tenant behavior. He stated there is also an inequity in the
ordinance on the issue of police contact, which is not defined in the ordinance. He indicated
he has had police contact in the past that never resulted in someone being cited or arrested,
yet he was sanctioned by the City via a letter telling him to warn the resident of their
misdeed and arrange a program of some sort to correct their behavior that resulted in the
disorderly conduct charge. He stated the City is asking him to interfere with the lifestyles of
his residents to an extent that he is supposed to correct as though he were their father, with
no support from the City. He reiterated his concern regarding the inconsistencies and
inequities contained in the proposed ordinance and felt the City may be challenged on its
enactment of this ordinance. He stated that there appear to be three apartment developments
in the City that have the most problems and appear to have management that is unable to
control their tenants. He urged the City to find a way to deal with these pockets of
inappropriate behavior and consider repealing the ordinance because it imposes rules on 150
properties when only three properties are considered problem properties.
City Council Meeting -6- October 18, 2010
Councilmember Sanger requested further information regarding use of the word
"unauthorized" and its definition in the context of Sec. 8-333(e).
Mr. Scott explained that an unauthorized guest is someone not authorized to be on the
premises and not authorized by the landlord under the terms of the lease. He stated that
unauthorized guests and other non-tenants are people who do not have a right to be on the
premises either as a tenant or legitimate guest of the tenant.
Mr. Fine called the Council's attention to the fact that it does not currently have a good
trespassing ordinance in place and encouraged the Council to review the City of
Minneapolis's trespassing ordinance as a good model. He stated that the Minneapolis
ordinance allows the police to respond to unauthorized guests on the first occasion of
contact.
Mayor Jacobs stated that the City will review the Minneapolis ordinance.
Councilmember Finkelstein stated that he felt the ordinance was a good ordinance and will
provide a tool that can be put to good use by landlords and tenants in the City.
It was moved by Councilmember Finkelstein, seconded by Councilmember Sanger, to adopt
Second Reading of Ordinance No. 2393-10 Amending Chapter 8 of the St. Louis Park
Code of Ordinances to Provide for a Provisional Rental Housing License.
The motion passed 7-0.
8d. Hennepin County Youth Sports Program Grant
Resolution No. 10-115
Ms. Walsh presented the staff report and stated that the City received funding earlier this
year for Northside Park and there may be additional funding available that would be used for
the redevelopment of the baseball and softball fields at Dakota Park. She advised that funds
have been budgeted for Dakota Park improvements and if the grant monies are not received,
the City will proceed with completing the improvements in phases.
It was moved by Councilmember Santa, seconded by Councilmember Ross, to adopt
Resolution No. 10-115 Authorizing Filing of Application and Execution of Agreement to
Develop Sport or Recreation Facilities under the Provisions of the Hennepin Youth Sports
Program.
The motion passed 7-0.
8e. Change Order #6 to City Contract 79-09, St. Louis Park Municipal Service
Center (MSC) Renovation Project No. 2008-1900
City Council Meeting -7- October 18, 2010
Mr. Hoffman presented the staff report and advised that the MSC project is almost
completed. He presented Change Order #6 and reported that it is anticipated the project
will continue to come in under budget. He added that the MSC renovation project included
renovation of Creekside Park, installation of a new parking lot and picnic table, and an
access to the creek landing area.
Mayor Jacobs stated that the MSC renovation will allow the City's operations to be much
more efficient and expressed the Council's congratulations to staff and the contractors.
It was moved by Councilmember Sanger, seconded by Counci/member Ross, to approve
Change Order#6 to Contract 79-09 MSC Renovation Project No. 2008-1900.
The motion passed 7-0.
9. Communications
Mayor Jacobs announced that Bookmark in the Park and St. Louis Park's Human Rights
Commission will be co-sponsoring an evening with Kao Kalia Yang, author of "The
Latehomecomer: A Hmong Family Memoir" on October 28th at 7:30 p.m. at City Hall in
the Council Chambers. He stated that the event is free and open to the public.
Mayor Jacobs reminded residents to vote on Tuesday, November 2"d. He added that if
residents are unable to get to their polling place on election day, they can vote absentee by
contacting the City Clerk's office.
Councilmember Santa reminded residents of the annual Westwood Nature Center
Halloween Party on Friday and Saturday evening, October 22nd and 23`d, from 6:30-9:30
p.m.; the event is very popular and residents need to register for the Halloween party ahead
of time.
Councilmember Sanger stated that the League of Women Voters will be hosting two
candidate forums; the first forum will be held Tuesday, October 19th, for the State
Representative races for Seats 44a and 44b and the second forum will be held next
Wednesday, October 27th, for the State Senate and County Commissioner seats. Both
forums will be held at City Hall and also broadcast on cable TV.
10. Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 8:24 p.m.
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NancyCitySt� Clerk Jeff Jac. s, •a •r