Loading...
2011-11-15 City Council minutesMendota Heights City Council CITY OF MENDOTA HEIGHTS DAKOTA COUNTY STATE OF MINNESOTA Minutes of the Regular Meeting and Closed Sessions Held Tuesday, November 15, 2011 November 15, 2011 Page 1 Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the regular meeting of the City Council, City of Mendota Heights, Minnesota was held at 7:00 p.m. at City Hall, 1101 Victoria Curve, Mendota Heights, Minnesota with closed sessions preceding and following the regularly scheduled meeting. POSTPONEMENT OF MEETING START Mayor Krebsbach announced that council had been in a closed session beginning at 6:25 p.m. to discuss the Settlement Agreement between the City of Mendota Heights and Mendota Mall Associates, LLP that would require continuance. Present at the closed session were Mayor Krebsbach, Councilmembers Duggan, Povolny, Petschel and Vitelli, City Attorney Diehm, Attorney Alsop, Interim City Administrator Mazzitello and Assistant to the Administrator Sedlacek. Mayor Krebsbach, Councilmember Duggan and Councilmember Petschel were in attendance for the start of the regularly scheduled meeting. Councilmember Duggan moved that the November 15, 2011 council meeting start time be postponed until 7:30 p.m. Councilmember Petschel seconded the motion. Ayes: 3 Nays: 0 Absent: 2 Mayor Krebsbach called the meeting to order at 7:16 p.m. The following members were present: Councilmembers Duggan, Povolny, Petschel and Vitelli. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Council, the audience, and staff recited the Pledge of Allegiance. AGENDA ADOPTION Mayor Krebsbach presented the agenda for adoption. Councilmember Duggan moved adoption of the agenda. Councilmember Vitelli seconded the motion. Ayes: 5 Nays: 0 FT"_. • • Mayor Krebsbach commented that she had submitted to City Clerk Sandie Thone two corrections to the minutes for the regular meeting held on November 1, 2011. The first change on page five of the minutes Mendota Heights City Council November 15, 2011 Page 2 would add reference to the sketch of the three lots on the Miller's property, as presented at the meeting. The second change on page seven to clarify, as discussed at the meeting that the two lots combined would equate to 1.2 acres. Councilmember Duggan stated he also submitted corrections to Clerk Thone. The first correction on page six of the second paragraph talks about approximately 15 feet of slope, which he believes should read 15 percent slope. The second and substantive change on page 14, under Council Comments, third paragraph — Councilmember Duggan wished to change where it states the Council did invite — it was actually he who invited Jim Losleben, Mike Dwyer, and Bob Lockwood to the commemoration for Chuck Mertensotto. Councilmember Petschel moved approval of the minutes of the regular meeting held on November 1, 2011 as corrected. Councilmember Vitelli seconded the motion. Ayes: 5 Nays: 0 CONSENT CALENDAR Mayor Krebsbach presented the consent calendar and explained the procedure for discussion and approval. Councilmember Duggan moved approval of the consent calendar as presented and authorization for execution of any necessary documents contained therein. a. Acknowledgement of the November 9, 2011 Airport Relations Commission Meeting Minutes b. Acknowledgement of the November 9, 2011 Parks & Recreation Commission Meeting Minutes c. Acknowledgement of the October 2011 Fire Department Report d. Acknowledgement of the September 2011 Par 3 Report e. Approval of cancellation of December 2011 Airport Relations Commission Meeting f. Approval of a Sign Permit for 1200 Centre Pointe Curve g. Adoption of "RESOLUTION FORMALLY ACKNOWLEDGING THE RECEIPT OF THE GIFTS FROM THE FAMILY OF CHARLES MERTENSOTTO" h. Adoption of "RESOLUTION REAPPOINTING ADVISORY COMMISSION MEMBERS" i. Adoption of "RESOLUTION APPROVING THE APPLICATION OF THE CITY OF MENDOTA HEIGHTS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2012 DAKOTA COUNTY COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT FUNDING" j. Adoption of "RESOLUTION ACCEPTING WORK AND APPROVING FINAL PAYMENT FOR THE KNOLLWOOD LANE NEIGHBORHOOD REHABILITATION" k. Approval of "JOINT POWERS AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF WEST SAINT PAUL AND THE CITY OF MENDOTA HEIGHTS FOR ASSESSMENT COLLECTION RELATED TO MUNICIPAL WATER CONNECTION COSTS FOR 1794 DELAWARE AVENUE, WEST SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA" 1. Approval of "RESOLUTION ADOPTING THE JOINT POWERS AGREEMENT WITH DAKOTA COUNTY AND THE CITY OF MENDOTA HEIGHTS TO NARROW BAND OUTDOOR WARNING SIRENS" m. Approval of employment of part-time seasonal hires n. Approval of appointment of probationary firefighters Mendota Heights City Council November 15, 2011 Page 3 o. Approval of expiration of probationary period for City Clerk P. Authorization to cancel purchase agreement for City owned property q. Approval of four Massage Therapy Licenses for employees at Green Lotus Health and Healing r. Approval of a Massage Therapy License for an employee at Massage Elements s. Approve the Contractors List t. Approve the Claims List Councilmember Vitelli seconded the motion. Ayes: 5 Nays: 0 PRESENTATIONS A) RESULTS OF THE STORMWATER POND CONDITION ASSESSMENT CONTRACT — PHILLIP ELKIN, STANTEC (BONESTROO) Mr. Phillip Elkin stated that he had submitted his report for the Mendota Heights pond analysis. The ponds included in this analysis were Park Place Pond, Copperfield Pond, and Burrows Pond. The questions answered by this analysis were 1) how much water treatment are these ponds providing, 2) what, if any, improvements are needed, and 3) if there are improvements needed, what are the options for treatment. Mr. Elkin provided a brief history of the ponds. Copperfield Pond was a natural wetland that had been converted to a stormwater pond. There is a trail around the pond used as part of the parks systems. Burrows Pond was another wetland that was converted to a stormwater pond. Later, as homes developed, two sediment basins were installed. Park Place Pond was not a pond built for stormwater management. It was a low area converted and dug out to fit the development. Mr. Elkin gave a brief history of stormwater management and how it progressed. Usually, these ponds, wetlands, or low areas were used as part of stormwater management to prevent flooding. All of the ponds in this study were specifically built for water quality. They were wetlands and low areas converted. In 1987 water quality ponds became specifically designed to remove nutrients and sediments. How they functioned is the amount of water that they would hold defined how much water quality they would provide. As water got into the ponds and stayed there, all of the sediments and nutrients would settle to the bottom. The next rainstorm comes, the clean water washes away and the new stormwater run off would replace the volume. The first step to assess the water quality is assessing how much water they are holding, how much treatment they are providing. The second part of the study was to look at the ponds and determine if they are providing flood control, are they functioning as designed as an asset or as a tool of the stormwater management of the city. This was done by sending out two staff members in a canoe to take a survey of the pond bottoms. They determine how much sediment has collected by measuring the two different types of pond bottoms. They would stick the surveyor's rod into the pool and the first layer would be the soft bottom and when the rod needed to be pushed through or dug through, that would be the hard bottom. The difference between the hard bottom and the soft bottom is the measurement of how much sediment has collected. Mendota Heights City Council November 15, 2011 Page 4 They would run this measurement through a model to determine how much of the capacity of the ponds to remove sediments had been used up. Mr. Elkin shared an illustration of the survey areas showing the hard bottom of the ponds, and different colored areas showing the different sediment levels that had been collected. Copperfield Pond meets or exceeds water quality goals. It is removing 50 percent of the phosphorus, 90 percent of the total suspended solids, and is in relatively good condition. There were some minor silt deltas and there are some minor repairs that were noticed in the pipe, but nothing overall. It probably received a B+ rating. Mr. Elkin pointed out that there is 100 acres of watershed that goes into this pond. Another positive aspect of Copperfield Pond is that the water is clear enough so emergent vegetation is growing. These types of ponds are designed to trap nutrients and the number one nutrient that is a problem is phosphorus; food for plants and algae. In this pond, the plants are winning the battle. There is a lack of nuisance algae enough that sunlight hits the bottom and these emergent plants are able to grow. The minor maintenance issues mentioned include a trash guard on a flared end section that has fallen off. However, it is in a remote area and there is lots of vegetation around it; it could create a blockage but is easily fixed. It is not causing any reduction in the function of the pond for storing water. There is excessive vegetation growing around the inlets. Burrows Pond has a small silt delta by an inlet, but it is still removing 50 percent of the phosphorus that comes into the pond so it is performing as expected by regulatory agencies. It is removing 90 percent of the total suspended solids, which he believes has a lot to do with the two sediment basins before inlet one and two. It is a very shallow pond; does not have a lot of water depth and that means it does not store a lot of water but it does store enough for the 80 acres of watershed. One of the things noticed aesthetically about Burrows Pond — because it is so shallow and a lack of shade — algae has a tendency to grow excessively in that area. There is some emergent vegetation on the edges but sunlight and phosphorus are the food for algae. That is why algae is seen growing in this pond. Park Place Pond did not meet the phosphorus expectations — it is 45 percent phosphorus removal — so it is not meeting the 50 percent design standard, but it is still pretty good. It is still removing 84 percent of the total suspended solids. It does not meet the watershed expectation; however, it is only a watershed of 17 acres. The impact of not meeting the water quality is on a relatively small area within the city. Like Burrows Pond, it does have a tendency to get algae blooms. One of the causes of this may be because the small watershed there is not regenerating the water. Water sits in the pond for a longer period of time plus there are lots of nutrients in the pond. Mr. Elkin provided a cost estimate to remove the silt deltas from all three ponds — close to $57,000. He believes $38,000 of that was Park Place Pond. As he pointed out, Park Place Pond has the smallest of watersheds. So the $57,000 comes with a caveat that the city may want to evaluate the impact of spending $38,000 or $40,000 to clean Park Place Pond. For phosphorus removal, the city may get more for their money by spending the money at a different pond that has a larger watershed. Mr. Elkin suggested that the city use this snapshot study to look at the city entirely and look at an implementation strategy that is more of an asset management approach to find out where the largest Mendota Heights City Council November 15, 2011 Page 5 ponds are, to find out where the city would get the most removal efficiency throughout the assets of the city. There are 98 ponds in the city, so spending $20,000 per pond will add up very quickly. Mr. Elkin believes there is a better way of spending resources. Mr. Elkin continued by commenting that the two ponds where there are a lot of houses right alongside of them have excessive algae and algae balloons; the ponds are designed to gather and collect phosphorus, which is food for algae. So algae growth is a sign that the ponds are doing their job. However, it is not the best to live on or look at. It is important to note that the food comes from the land uses around the ponds. Public education would help to lessen the amount of phosphorus or nutrients draining into the ponds; fertilizer, grass clippings, not dumping vegetation into the ponds, yard waste, and pet waste — as these provide food for algae if they get into the ponds. Councilmember Vitelli inquired if the water is clean and there is not a frightening depth of silt, why would the city spend any money on the large ponds. Mr. Elkin replied that a city would not. Mayor Krebsbach asked if there is a need to study all of the ponds. The city picked out these three, thinking that Copperfield would be the worst, and it sounds like basically it is doing okay as it is cleaning the water; however, it does have some silt in there. She inquired, with that many ponds, how bad of shape could the city be in if looking at these three they seem to be okay. Mr. Elkin replied that there are two answers to this question. One is to have staff out looking at ponds, looking for identifiers that indicate that something is wrong. That would be a part of asset management. The city could focus its money and resources towards what is known about the system and what the system is telling the city. The second part of that answer is that regulatory agencies such as the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, are updating the stormwater discharge permit for the city. And one of the aspects that they are looking at is they are first requiring cities to inventory their ponds; what their ponds are, where they are, how big they are, and physical characteristics. What they are proposing to impose is to have cities do a study similar to this to all of the ponds so that the agency can verify the amount of phosphorus cities are sending downstream to other water bodies. This may become a requirement of a city or municipality that discharges stormwater. Mr. Elkin continued by stating that the Mississippi River discharge silt ends up in Lake Pepin. Right now there is a big study on Lake Pepin occurring and one of the results or recommendations for the Lake Pepin study is to -put a phosphorus budget on each of the cities that discharge into Lake Pepin. An inventory of these ponds would give the city a clear picture of how much phosphorus the city is sending to Lake Pepin and whether that is within the guidelines or whether the city needs to step it up, or if the city is exceeding the guidelines. Councilmember Petschel commented that it was her understanding that one of the biggest issues in Lake Pepin was farmland runoff as opposed to the cities upstream from Lake Pepin. Mr. Elkin responded that this is a big debate going on. The MPCA can tell cities what to do but the farm discharges are unrestricted and unregulated. 99 percent of the watershed is coming from agricultural runoff, yet what they are focusing on is the 1 percent that they can regulate. It is a very contentious issue. In regards to the permit being updated, that permit was supposed to be released in June of 2011 and they are looking now at the earliest being May of 2012. Mendota Heights City Council November 15, 2011 Page 6 Councilmember Petschel asked if Mr. Elkin had created any protocol for homes around a pond wanting to improve the aesthetics of their pond. Mr. Elkin replied that there are a number of different approaches people have used. A fountain keeps the water agitated and the algae cannot grow out of control. When there is a lot of rainfall and the pond contents are being replaced, that will knock down a lot of the algae growth. There are more expensive routes, such as Alum treatment, which he touched upon in his report. In the cases of these ponds, he does not have a lot of history on what the land use was, how much was agriculture, and how much of the nutrient base is based on past land use and how much is dead vegetation. Councilmember Duggan asked if there is a measure for the relationship of buffer from a home to a pond to reduce phosphorus and any other chemical runoff. Mr. Elkin replied that there is not a quantitative measurement; however, it is one the best measures of practices used because if a lawn is being fertilized it will hit that buffer and the nutrients will first be absorbed by that layer of emergent vegetation before it gets to the pond. It is a practice that is widely encouraged to treat the runoff coming from the immediate homes on the ponds. Councilmember Duggan asked if there is a recommendation, such as native prairie grass, in that buffer area. Mr. Elkin replied that there are wetland mixes that would be good. Councilmember Duggan asked, once a pond is cleaned up and cleared, how many years is it before Mother Nature starts up all over again. Mr. Elkin replied that it depends on the waters that are discharged to the pond. A lot of the focus now is on rain gardens and passive treatments; treating the waterway outside the watershed before it gets into a pond to trap nutrients and sediments. Councilmember Duggan commented that Mr. Elkin gave Copperfield Pond a grade of B +. He then asked what the grades would be for the other two ponds. Mr. Elkin replied that Burrows Pond would be a C+ and Park Place would be a C -. Park Place, for what it is doing, is okay. However, it is very small and if it is looked at, there is a lot of sediment at the bottom that possibly was left over from when it was built. Councilmember Duggan asked if the inlet pipes are something that city staff could clean out. Mr. Elkin replied in the affirmative. Councilmember Petschel stated that city staff does clean out the inlet pipes. Councilmember Povolny asked if algae floats green at certain times of year. Mr. Elkin replied that at the end of the summer ponds are seen to be full of algae. The phosphorus in the pond is being burnt up by the algae, which is a good thing for downstream water bodies. That is what these ponds were built to do. They were built to burn off the nutrients and collect any suspended solids before they move downstream. Mayor Krebsbach asked, as long as these three have been looked at, is there any way that the city can extrapolate to other ponds that are probably not in any worse condition anyplace else in the city if all of the conditions are the same. Mr. Elkin replied that the city could take what has been received and use it as a building block if it wanted to study three more; the city would not have to start at square one since it already has the definitions, the water quality explanations, etc. Mendota Heights City Council PUBLIC COMMENTS November 15, 2011 Page 7 Ms. Sally Lorberbaum stated that council acknowledged Mayor Mertensotto at the last meeting and it was a lovely tribute. Some kind words were said, a poem was rewritten in his memory, and there was a moment of silence. Ms. Lorberbaum requested that council take a formal action to name something permanently after the mayor. He was on the council for 14 years and mayor 16 years consecutively, he was a Dakota County commissioner, he was president of the Dakota County Library, and was on the Metropolitan Airports Commission. As much as what was done at the last meeting was very nice, she would really like to see something permanent named after him. She is open as to what the council would think would be appropriate; whether it would be a street, a park, or a trail. Councilmember Duggan commented that he would certainly support this but the normal policy is to accept the comments and then take an action either at the next meeting or the following meeting. This would obviously require a resolution. He does like the idea of renaming Market Square. He also knows from conversations that he had with Mayor Mertensotto in the past that if anything were to be named after him, he would prefer the shorter version — Mertens. Going back to his ancestry it was always Mertens, and the `otto' was added later. PUBLIC HEARINGS A) PUBLIC HEARING: PROPOSED LEMAY LAKE ROAD RECONSTRUCTION PROJECT Mayor Krebsbach declared the public hearing open and recognized Assistant City Engineer Ryan Ruzek to give the background. Mr. Ruzek stated that Lemay Lake Road Reconstruction Project was shown in the 5 -year street improvement plan to be reconstructed in 2012. The project includes reconstruction of Lemay Lake Road from Mendota Heights Road to Highway 13, Lakeview Avenue, Kendon Lane; Furlong Avenue, and Victory Avenue. The feasibility report was authorized on May 17, 2011 and it was adopted and accepted by City Council on October 4, 2011. Mr. Ruzek shared a map of the area showing Lemay Lake Road from Mendota Heights Road to Highway 13, including the side streets Victory Avenue, Furlong Avenue, Kendon Lane, and Lakeview Avenue. Current Street Conditions and Project Scone Lemay Lake Road was constructed by MnDOT in 1994 and the roadway currently varies from 36 feet to 40 feet, has a pavement cross section of three inches of bituminous surface over five inches of bituminous base, concrete curb and gutter was not installed on this street, and it is in relatively poor condition having failing bituminous surface. The proposed improvements to Lemay Road include meeting the nine ton design, it is a city MSA street, installing concrete curb and gutter, proposed street width of 34 feet with no parking on one side and a parking lane on the other side, which will also be used as an on- street path or walking trail. Storm sewer improvements consist of adding catch basins, Mendota Heights City Council November 15, 2011 Page 8 storm sewer pipe, and connecting to a proposed detention pond. Fire hydrants would be replaced to meet current St. Paul Regional Water Standards. Lakeview Avenue, Kendon Lane, Furlong Avenue, and Victory Avenue were constructed in 1991. Current roadway width is 22 feet and the streets have a pavement cross - section of two inches of bituminous surface over a six -inch aggregate base, concrete curb and gutter was never installed on these streets, and they currently have a failing bituminous surface and are in fairly poor condition. Proposed improvements would be meeting the current city standard of a seven ton street design, installing concrete curb and gutter, proposed width of 28 feet, which is smaller than the city standard of 33 feet but it is a small neighborhood servicing small homes. Staff is proposing to install cul -de -sacs at the end of the streets with a 30 -foot radius to the face of curb. Storm sewer improvements would consist of adding catch basins, storm sewer pipe, which would be connected to a proposed dry basin and rain gardens where homeowners are accepting to them. Fire hydrants would be replaced as well. Project Costs $911,000 is estimated for the road construction; indirect costs for engineering, legal, and administration are estimated at 25 percent, which are billed out at actual hours; street reconstruction of the local streets is estimated at approximately $450,000; storm sewer construction of approximately $376,000; trail construction, which would connect to the on- street trail on Lemay Lake Road with the trail adjacent to SuperAmerica; water main costs of approximately $120,000. The project costs would be approximately $1.8, with indirect costs bringing the total project costs up to approximately $2.3 million. Street reconstructions follow the Statute 429 process to assess a portion of the cost back to benefiting property owners. Assessment Calculations Assessment calculations for the side streets, taking accessible costs of $562,000; 50 percent of that cost divided by the 31 units equates to an estimated assessment of approximately $9,000. To be consistent with reconstruction projects of the last few years, staff is proposing to cap that assessment at $8,500, which would be approximately 47 percent of the assessable cost. Along Lemay Lake Road there is varying zonings so staff used a linear foot assessment for that project. Using the total street footage, the assessment amount came up to approximately $72.77 per foot; multiplying by a typical residential lot, staff is proposing to cap the residential assessments at $8,500 to be consistent with the rest of the neighborhood. However, there are a number of commercial properties as well as the City and Resurrection Cemetery with large front footages that would have larger assessments. Mr. Ruzek shared a table outlining the different assessments for the different properties. Funding Sources Staff is estimating the total cost at $2.3 million where approximately $442,000 would be collected through special assessments; the city would bond for approximately $1.2 million; and utilities funds of approximately $600,000 to cover the storm sewer and water main replacements costs. Project Schedule Staff anticipates bidding the project in April 2012, opening bids in June 2012, beginning construction in July 2012, and completing construction in the fall of 2012 with the assessment hearing in October 2012. Mendota Heights City Council November 15, 2011 Page 9 Mayor Krebsbach commented that a sentence in the council packet reads, "Lemay Lake Road has eleven (11) properties that have driveway access along Mendota Heights Road" and asked if this is correct. Mr. Ruzek replied that it should read "along Lemay Lake Road." Councilmember Duggan asked Mr. Ruzek to show him where the Resurrection Cemetery property is in relation to the road, which Mr. Ruzek pointed out on the map with a laser pointer. Resurrection Cemetery has a total of 382 linear feet along Lemay Lake Road. Mayor Krebsbach asked if there had been a neighborhood meeting on this topic. Mr. Ruzek replied that the neighborhood meeting took place on October 19, 2011. Ms. Gina Norling, 1280 Lakeview Avenue, stated that she was at the informational neighborhood meeting where she received a lot of information, which was very helpful. She expressed concerns that came up when she did her own fact finding in understanding what the project was: In regards to the cost estimation, she noted a 25 percent overhead rate for the burden of the legal, financial, engineering aspects, which seems rather high to her and she challenged the staff to reduce that overhead rate. She did a little bit of research on area communities, such as Eagan and Bloomington and how much they assess their homeowners and feels in comparison the rate to be very excessive. She also expressed that she is not sure exactly with the new implementation of the FAA's safe skies instrumentation and with the heading that aircraft will utilize when they take -off; right now it is through a fanning approach overhead. Mayor Krebsbach interjected that Ms. Norling is a commissioner on the Airport Relations Commission, which Ms. Norling confirmed. Ms. Norling continued by explaining it is her understanding that the commission will be implementing technology that will have certain headings that aircraft will follow. She is not sure exactly what the land use is and what, if any, impacts there would be when it is no longer spreading over the land. Her concern is if the city is going to do this street rehabilitation project, what if a property is considered unsafe by the MAC by the level of noise they have for those particular headings that are given. Those headings are yet to be determined. Ms. Norling also wanted to know if the feasibility study included the Lemay Shore Apartment complex that is planned. She is unsure if the usage that is planned was considered, will it change with more traffic. As for the financial planning, Ms. Norling stated that the proposal is to assess each household $8,500 and a one year period is a really quick turnaround. Even if the residents use the Mark Dayton analogy that the richest Minnesotans making $75,000 or more, they would have to put away more than 10 percent of their income in a year to save for this and she feels that if staff is going to use the 25 percent burden rate, that residents should ask the finance department in the city to come up with better options than just pay all at once or have this 6 percent interest rate. Mr. Ruzek stated that the 25 percent figure has been the standard practice. When he began seven years ago, it was standard to assess 30 percent on estimated reconstruction project costs and 20 percent on estimated rehabilitation project costs. Mr. Ruzek has not done a study on estimate versus actual dollars. Mendota Heights City Council November 15, 2011 Page 10 He believes this is still a process that Public Works Director John Mazzitello and Finance Director Kristen Schabacker will discuss in the budget meetings. Mayor Krebsbach commented that the estimated cost would be $1,200 per household. Mr. Ruzek replied that the indirect cost is taken from the full amount but nothing has been finalized. Mayor Krebsbach asked what the total cost per household is. Mr. Ruzek replied that $8,500 is the proposed assessment, which is 47 percent of the total cost. Mayor Krebsbach asked what the 25 percent figure is per household. Mr. Ruzek replied that the residents are paying 47 percent of the assessable cost; the city is probably close to $15,000 per resident, if not more than that. Pubic Works Director John Mazzitello explained that the Funding Sources table included in the council packet shows the construction cost estimates of the project totaling $1,863,749.50. Of that figure, only $442,633.88 is being assessed. So between the municipal bonds and fund balances, the city is carrying the lion's share of the cost of this project. When looking at the street assessment policy, it is seen that the city could have assessed 50 percent of the cost, which would have equated to $9,071.80 per resident. Over the last several years, the city has had reconstruction assessments of approximately $8,500. Staff is choosing to cap this assessment at $8,500 per property. The 25 percent as illustrated in the council packet is not only for staff expenses but includes the survey, soil analysis, construction specs; etc. It enables staff to provide accurate information to the contractor. For the last several years, staff has found that indirect expenditures are approximately 25 percent of the construction costs. Mayor Krebsbach asked what that 25 percent figure is per household. Mr. Mazzitello replied that staff would take the $465,937.39 of indirect costs multiplied by 47 percent, divided by the number of residents affected. Mayor Krebsbach asked for clarification that 25 percent of the $8,500 to be paid by the residents is not for the administrative, engineering, and consulting costs. Mr. Mazzitello indicated that is correct. Mayor Krebsbach commented that the city's street reconstruction assessment policy is 50 percent in terms of when they determine all of these costs. She does not have any history with Eagan or Bloomington in terms of how they assess their street reconstruction, but she does want to get a figure for Ms. Norling on the 25 percent rate. Councilmember Duggan commented that considering the success that both Bloomington and Eagan have in their commercial ventures, they are more than likely able to cover a lot of the costs that Mendota Heights does not have the opportunity to because it is more residential. In response to Ms. Norling's comments about the safe skies instrumentation, Councilmember Petschel commented that all of the studies that have been done in terms of noise contours, when an airport has made a move to precision -based navigation the contours have not changed much more than 1 percent. If the city is only going to see a 1 percent increase, that is not going to affect safety, quality of life, or anything in terms of the corridor. She stated the latest steps by Delta to move all of their training equipment out of the Twin Cities and the large transfer of personnel down to Atlanta make her a little nervous about their commitment here. The latest trend in the aircraft industry is to use fewer planes, quieter planes that carry more people. The noise contours have been shrinking consistently over the past Mendota Heights City Council November 15, 2011 Page 11 five to ten years and she believes that with the new trend, they will shrink even further. At the next Noise Oversight Committee meeting, the Airport Relations Commission will see the new contours. All of the projections will be overlaid on the current contours. The assurances received so far indicate there will not be any noticeable differences. Even though they are doing fanning over Mendota Heights, they are essentially using three different headings. She does not anticipate the precision -based navigation to change any of those headings. Councihmember Vitelli commented that there is a perception that the residents are paying for 50 percent of this project. The total project cost is $2.3 million and the assessment is approximately $442,000, which is 20 percent, not 50 percent. The other residents of the city are paying almost 80 percent. That puts this project in league with the cities of Eagan, Bloomington, and the other cities referenced. Mayor Krebsbach asked how the city came up with a policy of 50 percent. Mr. Ruzek replied that it is 50 percent of the assessable costs. Essentially, once a property has been assessed for water main, the city does not assess it again. The storm sewer is covered by the stormwater utility. So a large number of items are pulled out of the project scope, saying they are not assessable costs if there is utility and other funding sources to cover those expenses. Mayor Krebsbach commented that she knows $8,500 sounds expensive but it is a complete reconstruction and some of these other infrastructure improvements. Councihnember Vitelli commented that the perception is that the overhead costs are 25 percent. The costs that need to be paid to consultants could have been scored as direct costs rather than overhead costs, then the city would be at 20 percent. It is just a matter of how an expense is categorized. The 25 percent overhead is not to cover just city staff expenses. Mr. Keith Craft, 1314 Furlong Avenue, asked for clarification that the side streets are going from 22 feet curb -to -curb to 28 feet curb -to -curb; three additional feet on both sides. The indication was that this is correct. Mr. Craft continued by stating that this will impact three things in his yard: the location of mailboxes, the retaining wall and since they have no garage, the concrete pad with a wooden structure for garbage bins. Mr. Craft asked what remunerations are available. Mr. Ruzek replied that in the projects costs, staff did include potential replacement of the retaining wall with a new modular block wall. Mailboxes can be moved without any problems. Mr. Ruzek did not have the survey in front of him so he was unsure how close the concrete pad was to the road, but the city would put everything back together similar to what is there today — a new retaining wall, a new concrete pad, and the mailboxes moved to a new location. Mr. Craft made the observation that the traffic pattern on Lemay Lake Road seems to him to be very light. Over half of the investment is going to upgrading that road for minimal payback. Councihmember Petschel replied that she has found that with the asphalt paving, the curb actually serves as a support for the edges of the asphalt street. When the curb is not available it breaks and fractures. Adding the curbing actually adds a tremendous amount of length of lifetime to the street. It also makes the snowplowing easier and is healthier for the stormwater runoff. Mayor Krebsbach asked why the streets are being widened to 28 feet. Mr. Ruzek replied that a 22 -foot street does not allow for two -way traffic and cars parked on the street. If the streets were kept at 22 feet Mendota Heights City Council November 15, 2011 Page 12 curb -to -curb, they would have to be assigned as no on- street parking allowed. As far as the traffic levels on Lemay Lake Road, the 9 -ton street, being fully striped, and full lane width was planned so it would be able to handle all future development in the area. Mr. Tim Stearns, 1300 Furlong Avenue, commented that, with living on the corner, all of the water that comes down Furlong typically goes through his yard. He asked where the water is going to go now. Mr. Ruzek replied that staff is proposing to install dry basins and sump structures at the end all of the four cul -de -sacs. The first third of the side streets, they will be able to pump to Lemay Lake Road and then down to a proposed holding pond on the city property. The water will still go to the cul -de -sac and will be in a pipe until it hits the dry basin. Councilmember Petschel commented that staff could advise any resident who is interested in a water garden, just as they did for the residents of Wagon Wheel Trail. Mr. David Hiner, 1295 Kendon Lane, stated that he does not believe the city can assess that kind of money onto these properties. This is not the Copperfield area; they have very limited resources. Many of the houses are not worth even close to $100,000 and he does not see how the city can attach an $8,500 assessment onto them at 6 percent. He believes the city needs to help many of the residents as they are on fixed incomes and retired. Mayor Krebsbach commented that she too is concerned about the price of the assessment for residents but feels it is calculated fairly. She explained the city does offer a deferred assessment until the time the house is sold. Mr. Mazzitello stated that when the city has a street project, like a reconstruction or rehabilitation, parcels that are not developed, parcels that are owned by individuals over 65 years of age, or parcels that are owned by disabled veterans are eligible, per the city's policy, for deferred assessment. An assessment deferral does not mean that payment is excused. It means that payment is not required and interest will accrue until such time as there is a title transfer on the parcel. That could be through a will, gift, sale, or any type of title transfer that would trigger payment of that assessment. The other rule for a deferred assessment is it cannot be deferred for longer than 30 years. Once the 30 -year timeframe hits, that assessment is due in full. Mayor Krebsbach asked how much the total assessment would be if someone defers the assessment for 10 years at 6 percent interest rate. Mr. Ruzek replied that interest on the whole principal amount would be $642 a year, times 10 years, equates to $6,420, for a total of $14,920. Mr. Hiner stated that this would be tough on a $40,000 house. Ms. Margaret Swenson, 1294 Kendon Lane, stated that she agrees with Mr. Hiner that this is a big burden to put on the homeowners in this area. It is so small and is so sparsely populated. She can understand it in a neighborhood like Wagon Wheel Trail because they have a tennis court, a lake, and a park. This neighborhood however has nothing like that. They have dead -end streets and so they do not drive through the neighborhood. She sees no benefit to have curbs on their streets as far as ever getting the money back on their properties. She would worry about selling her home; especially with how hard it is to sell homes now, and then to tack on this assessment would make it even more difficult. The 6 percent interest rate is really high. This is a lot of money to come up with in a year and try to pay off and 6 percent interest is a pretty stiff penalty to pay. She wishes the city would leave their streets alone as they are fine, go onto the next project, and look at their streets again sometime in the future. Mendota Heights City Council November 15, 2011 Page 13 Mr. Tim Furlong, 2230 Highway 13, stated that he agrees with Ms. Swenson in that this is a financial burden that most of the people in that area are not willing to take on unless forced to. He believes the city should leave the streets as they are. There should be an addendum on this new street rehabilitation or reconstruction policy leaving this area out of it and keeping it rural streets and rehabilitation — not reconstruction. Mr. John Legler, 1286 Kendon Lane, expressed his concerns about the runoff that he has watched come down the street, through an area of woods on Mr. Hiner's land, and on into the lake. He had the Soil and Water Conservation District come out and they said it was an area of concern; however, there was no direct evidence that debris was flowing directly into the lake. He thinks this would be a real benefit for the water quality in the lake and he would invite people who are affected by this to look at the Dakota County website through the Blue Thumb information that is available about rain gardens. Mr. Legler would much prefer to catch the initial run -off on the street diverted into rain gardens for the first few minutes of a heavy rain. He believes there would be a lot better water quality with that. Mr. Legler is a proponent of going ahead with this. By all estimations, 6 percent seems high when he is only getting 2.5 percent on his savings and mortgages are down to 3 percent; so he is not exactly sure why that percentage rate has to be so high. Finance Director Kristen Schabacker replied that the 6 percent interest rate has been the interest rate charged over the past several projects. There are other costs associated with the bonds besides just the true interest rate. There are administrative costs, bond issuance costs, and so over the life of the loan the city chooses 6 percent for those assessments. The city does not make a profit on the interest rate. The bonds are structured to reflect the 6 percent interest on those assessments. Mayor Krebsbach stated that the way the city has conducted its business over the years has been with great integrity; that does not mean that they do not need to look at it from time to time or that they do not need to explain it in detail to the residents. She has no problem with this hearing continuing to the next meeting. That does not mean this project would not get called in at this rate. She just wants to make sure that all issues are discussed, all of the information is there and the council has had a chance to consider what the residents are presenting. In addition, she stated in continuing the hearing to the next meeting she wanted to ensure they would not be holding this project up. Mr. Mazzitello stated that he does not believe this would stand in interference with the project timeline if the public hearing were to be held open until December 6, 2011. Councilmember Duggan stated that he is in support of waiting, but he wants to have a reason for waiting. Either the council will be receiving more information from staff on what other methods are available, why reconstruction rather than rehabilitation, why now instead of three or four years down the road and let the neighborhood understand such things. Mayor Krebsbach reiterated her position; she is in favor of keeping the public hearing open and did not want to send any expectation that by keeping it open things would necessarily change. She would want to only keep this hearing open until the next meeting, which is on the first Tuesday in December. Certainly the staff could look at the cost and see if there is any alternate improvement to the street. Mendota Heights City Council November 15, 2011 Page 14 There are things to think about and it never hurts for council to have a little bit of time to consider some of the issues. Mr. Ruzek, in response to the overlay situation, stated that the feasibility and pavement management systems have identified that these streets are in need of reconstruction. At this point, an overlay or rehabilitation of the streets without curb and gutter — according to the city assessment policy — 100 percent of those costs would be assessed to the owners. The assessments would probably actually increase to what is proposed with a project like this. Mayor Krebsbach stated again that by holding this hearing open until the next meeting does not mean that anything appreciably changes. But it gives everyone time to think about and look at it in a little more depth. Councilmember Povolny stated that project costs are based on oil costs and cement costs. If the project is pushed out to five years from now, $8,500 might sound like a deal. Councilmember Vitelli moved to hold this public hearing open until the December 6, 2011 city council meeting. Councilmember Duggan seconded the motion. Ayes: 5 Nays: 0 Councilmember Duggan stated that if anyone has concerns that they have not shared, staff will welcome any comments or questions written, verbal, or email. He encouraged the neighbors to speak with each other and find out what exactly does the whole group want. COUNCIL COMMENTS Councilmember Vitelli suggested, as plans are created for next years costs and budget, there be a project called Council Chambers Audio/Visual Upgrade and proposed it include the following: • Upgrade of projector • Replace the television under the podium • Adjust the electronics so 100 percent of the screen is utilized • Replace the audio system Councilmember Povolny wholeheartedly seconded Councilmember Vitelli's recommendations. Councilmember Duggan wished everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. He also mentioned that there are two tree lighting ceremonies this year; The Village at Mendota Heights on Saturday, December 3 at 5:00 p.m. and Mendota Plaza on Thursday, December 8 at 6:00 p.m. Councilmember Duggan also mentioned that Mendota Plaza did a great job in relation to the bonfire. They had gifts and treats in little goodie bags for whoever showed up and attended. He thanked the fire department for their great work on the 63`d Annual Firefighters Dance. He also mentioned that there are three openings on the Parks and Recreation Commission and encouraged anyone interested to come in and fill out an application form. Mendota Heights City Council November 15, 2011 Page 15 Mayor Krebsbach mentioned that she and her husband attended the Firefighters Dance, they had a great time visiting with people, and it was a well - attended event. She also commended Parks Commissioner Tom Kraus for his service. A more formal recognition will be done in January. Commissioner Duggan stated that he received a call from someone who is already not happy with the night -time parking ban from 2:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. and they are wondering if the city would consider imposing that ban only when there is snow, as opposed to all of the time, and/or abate it during the holidays. CLOSED SESSION TO DISCUSS LABOR NEGOTIATIONS Mayor Krebsbach stated that pursuant to Minnesota Statute council would be going into closed session to discuss labor contract negotiations involving the Teamsters (Public Works) and the Law Enforcement Labor Services (LELS). She also mentioned that council would be in a closed session on November 22, 2011 at 5:30 p.m. to discuss the on -going litigation between Mendota Mall Associates, LLP vs. The City of Mendota Heights; with a special council meeting set immediately afterwards at 6:00 p.m. Councilmember Duggan moved to adjourn to Closed Session to Discuss Labor Contract Negotiations Involving the Teamsters (Public Works) And the Law Enforcement Labor Services (LELS). Councilmember Petschel seconded the motion. Ayes: 5 Nays: 0 CLOSED SESSION: TO DISCUSS LABOR CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS INVOLVING THE TEAMSTERS (PUBLIC WORKS) AND THE LAW ENFORCEMENT LABOR SERVICES (LELS). Present at the closed session to discuss labor contract negotiations involving the Teamsters (Public Works) and the Law Enforcement Labor Services (LELS) were Mayor Krebsbach, Councilmembers Duggan, Povolny, Petschel and Vitelli, Interim City Administrator Mazzitello, Human Resources Coordinator Schutta, City Attorney Diehm and Police Chief Aschenbrener. MM � 610201 Mayor Krebsbach adjourned the meeting at 10 Xp.m. Krebsbach, Sandie Thone, City Clerk