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2012-11-20 City Council minutesCITY OF MENDOTA HEIGHTS DAKOTA COUNTY STATE OF MINNESOTA Minutes of the Regular Meeting Held Tuesday, November 20, 2012 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. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Krebsbach called the meeting to order at 7:00 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 proposed additions to the agenda by adding an Item 8 — Updates, to include the MAC/RNAV Report, update on the storm cleanup, and an update on Valley Park. Council Comments would then become Item 9. Councilmember Duggan moved adoption of the amended agenda. 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 pulling items M) Approval of Resolution Community Development Block Grant Application, N) Approval of Revised Flexible Benefits Plan, and P) Renewal of Joint Powers Agreement Establishing Lower Mississippi River. a. Acknowledgement of October 30, 2012 City Council Minutes • Mayor Krebsbach noted that there was an amended set of minutes for the Council to acknowledge. Changes included the addition of a statement made by Mayor Krebsbach on why she voted for the Fleischhaker garage when she had made an earlier statement that she would be opposed to it, and on the top of page four where it reads "The next step is the Required Navigation Performance ... ", the word `is' should be `in'. November 20, 2012 Mendota Heights City Council Page 1 Councilmember Petschel moved adoption of the amended minutes. Councilmember Duggan seconded the motion. Ayes: 5 Nays: 0 b. Acknowledgement of October 30, 2012 City Council Workshop Minutes c. Acknowledgement of November 14, 2012 Canvassing Board Minutes d. Acknowledgement of November 14, 2012 Airport Relations Commission Minutes e. Receipt of October 2012 Fire Synopsis Report f. Approval of End of Firefighter Probationary Period g. Approval of Sign Permit - 750 Main Street h. Approval of Sign Permit - 1355 Mendota Heights Road i. Approval of Resolution Accepting Gifts to the Police Department j. Change of Date for January 1, 2013 City Council Meeting [meeting on January 8 and January 15 k. Authorization to Hire Seasonal Rink Flooders 1. Approval of Resolution Entering Into 2013 Joint Powers Agreement for Recycling Funding m. Approval of Resolution Community Development Block Grant Application n. Approval of Revised Flexible Benefits Plan o. Accept Insurance Committee Recommendation on Supplemental Insurance Plans p. Renewal of Joint Powers Agreement Establishing Lower Mississippi River Watershed Management Organization with Second Amendment r. Receive September and October Treasurer's Reports s. Approval of Contractors List t. Approval of Claims List Councilmember Petschel seconded the motion. Ayes: 5 Nays: 0 PULLED CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS M) APPROVAL OF RESOLUTION COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT APPLICATION Councilmember Petschel asked if this application is only for Mendota Heights residents or is it county- wide, and is this the city's contribution to a county -wide project. Assistant to the City Administrator Jake Sedlacek replied that the City of Mendota Heights has participated in community development block grant funding for quite some time. This is administered by Dakota County as the Community Development Agency (CDA). It is funding that is available to Mendota Heights residents who are income qualified for a low income housing loan — not a grant, but a loan — so this particular grant is available to people who make eighty percent of the median income or less. This grant program is federal dollars and is a benefit for Mendota Heights' residents. It is administered entirely by Dakota County on the city's behalf. The county is able to do the screening of the applicants to make sure they meet qualifications, offer the loans, and follow up on them. November 20, 2012 Mendota Heights City Council Page 2 Councilmember Petschel asked how the residents of Mendota Heights would find out about this program. Sedlacek answered that the city has highlighted the application in the Heights Highlights, the Friday News, and on the city's website. The CDA also offers it if anyone is in need of fmancial assistance related to housing. They have a number of programs and if it is a Mendota Heights resident, the CDA can then direct them towards this program. Councilmember Petschel asked if the fund been depleted each year. Sedlacek commented that they typically get around $20,000 specific to this program. Over the course of the life of this program it has been spent — with some years being leaner than others. The CDA is currently focusing on making fewer loans but in larger amounts. Councilmember Duggan asked who makes that final decision on selecting the applicants. Sedlacek answered that it is on a first come, first serve basis, as long as the applicant qualifies. Councilmember Duggan asked for acknowledgement that the maximum that the city could get is $22,000. Sedlacek confirmed that was correct. Councilmember Petschel suggested that the word "acting" be removed from in front of "city administrator" in #2 of the resolution, which staff acknowledged. Councilmember Duggan moved to adopt RESOLUTION APPROVING THE APPLICATION OF THE CITY OF MENDOTA HEIGHTS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2012 DAKOTA COUNTY COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT FUNDING. Councilmember Petschel seconded the motion. Ayes: 5 Nays: 0 N) APPROVAL OF REVISED FLEXIBLE BENEFITS PLAN Councilmember Duggan suggested a couple of changes: 1. Second `whereas' that reads "the City of Mendota Heights desires to have a Flexible Benefits Plan covering its qualified employees, their spouses and their dependents ..." — no need for the second `their' before `dependents' but it's fine 2. Under the `further resolved' that reads "that the City Administrator or their designee" — `their' implies plural and should read "that the City Administrator or designee" and change the `are directed' to `is directed' 3. He also questioned if there been any changes since Resolution 90 -63. City Administrator Justin Miller replied that there have been changes but they were not approved in a resolution, so that is the most recent resolution. Councilmember Duggan moved ADOPTION OF THE CITY OF MENDOTA HEIGHTS FLEXIBLE BENEFITS PLAN, with the amendments as proposed. Councilmember Petschel seconded the motion. Ayes: 5 Nays: 0 November 20, 2012 Mendota Heights City Council Page 3 P) RENEWAL OF JOINT POWERS AGREEMENT ESTABLISHING LOWER MISSISSIPPI RIVER Mayor Krebsbach asked City Engineer John Mazzitello to explain what the changes are to the agreement. City Engineer Mazzitello explained that the original Joint Powers Agreement (JPA) exists from 2001 and was set to expire in December 2011. All of the member cities passed resolutions extending the JPA to 2012 because the Watershed Management Organization was in the process of rewriting their watershed management plan. The new JPA is for a term that would expire on January 1, 2023 and there are five principal changes: 1. Section 5, Subdivision 1 — Adds member cities to the Technical Advisory Committee 2. Section 6, Subdivision 1 — Adds the statute reference to the paragraph 3. Section 6, Subdivision 4 — Repeals the section prohibiting removal of Board members 4. Section 10, Subdivision 7 — Adds provisions for cost allocation for water quality (allocations for water quality are already in place), and adds exhibit "C" to the JPA 5. Section 12, Subdivision — Establishes the sunset date of the JPA as January 1, 2023 Mayor Krebsbach asked for clarification on item one in that she thought the city was represented on the Technical Advisory Committee. City Engineer Mazzitello replied that there are current appointees to the board. What this provision would do is allow city staff to also sit on the Technical Advisory Committee. Councilmembers received examples of how the City of Mendota Heights would be affected by the addition of provisions for cost allocation for water quality, as opposed to cost allocation for water quantity as is currently done. Councilmember Duggan commented that on the list of member cities and the number of votes each have; however, in relation to budget, it states that each member city only has one vote. City Engineer Mazzitello answered that the table in the original JPA outlining the number of votes the city has is intended for policy decisions and project decisions. When it comes to the budget, it was determined that each city should have a single vote. Mayor Krebsbach asked if the number of votes regarding policy or project is based on population. City Engineer Mazzitello replied that it is based on acreage and land value. Councilmember Duggan moved approval of SECOND AMENDMENT TO REVISED AND RESTATED JOINT POWERS AGREEMENT ESTABLISHING A WATERSHED MANAGEMENT ORGANIZATION FOR THE LOWER MISSISSIPPI RIVER WATERSHED. Councilmember Petschel seconded the motion. Ayes: 5 Nays: 0 . November 20, 2012 Mendota Heights City Council Page 4 PUBLIC COMMENTS There were no public comments. UNFINISHED AND NEW BUSINESS A) PLANNING CASE 2012-13, COMMERCIAL PROPERTY MAINTENANCE CODE Mayor Krebsbach commented that this topic was discussed in workshop and asked Assistant to the City Administrator Jake Sedlacek to explain the ordinance. Sedlacek explained that this planning case was originally submitted by city staff at the request of City Council in May of 2012. The purpose of the code amendment is to create property maintenance standards and abatement procedures for commercial properties. The Planning Commission discussed this topic over a course of several meetings with an emphasis on making sure that businesses had an opportunity to provide input. The Planning Commission is recommending that the City Council adopt the new code. The City Council discussed this at their workshop session on October 30. The ordinance in front of the Council was the ordinance passed by the Planning Commission with a couple of very minor grammatical changes after the workshop. They also eliminated a small section on stormwater, which staff decided was already included in another section of the code. Councilmember Petschel asked if the surrounding communities have commercial property ordinances. Assistant to the City Administrator Sedlacek replied that a number of communities throughout the Twin Cities area have some form of commercial property maintenance code. The initial draft came from the cities of Eagan and Minnetonka. Councilmember Petschel stated she believes that Eagan does a good job with their commercial properties. Mayor Krebsbach asked if staff heard directly from businesses in Mendota Heights in opposition to this. Sedlacek answered that the business owner of Fischerville Coffee House spoke of their concerns about the ordinance. Also, the comments from the Chamber of Commerce were global. Mayor Krebsbach commented that the ordinance presented is very complete. She asked what type of calls or questions the city may get upon initial enforcement. Sedlacek stated there might be issues with parking lots and weeds. Mayor Krebsbach proposed the following changes to the ordinance: • 12-8-3 Building and Structure Appearance and Safety Requirements o After "Any building or structure — add ",including retaining walls," to paragraph A • Keep 12-8-4 Maintenance Requirements for Vacant Buildings • 12-8-5 Landscaping and Grounds Maintenance o Keep the general comment about maintaining landscaping and taking care of the debris o A of the particulars would be struck o Keep Fencing • 12-8-6 Accessory Uses, Buildings and Structures o Accessory Structures would basically be struck o Keep Signage o Keep Exterior Lighting November 20, 2012 Mendota Heights City Council Page 5 o Strike 12 -8 -7 Accumulations and Hazardous Material ® Keep 12 -8 -8 Rubbish, Garbage and Trash • Keep 12 -8 -9 Abatement and Enforcement Procedures Mayor Krebsbach stated she feels it is important to have this ordinance. Councilmember Povolny asked how much different this ordinance is from the residential property maintenance code. Sedlacek replied that this ordinance has more detail in it. Some of the suggestions that the mayor has proposed, make it more similar to the residential property code. Councilmember Povolny asked why they should not be the same. Sedlacek replied that would be an option. He continued by explaining that the direction to staff at the start of this project was to have a very robust property maintenance code to make sure all of the issues were being handled. Mayor Krebsbach commented that there has always been an interest to at least have something that the city could use to take care of things like broken windows, etc. The documents before the Council would be about as close a match as could be gotten between commercial and residential. Councilmember Vitelli moved approval of ORDINANCE 444, AN ORDINANCE AMENDING TITLE 12 TO ADD CHAPTER EIGHT, COMMERCIAL / INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY MAINTENANCE, WITH THE PROPOSED CHANGES BY MAYOR KREBSBACH. Councilmember Povolny seconded the motion. Councilmember Petschel commented she feels that in the process of using this code, the city may find that there are some things that would need to be changed or tweaked. Councilmember Duggan proposed amending Section 12 -8 -1 Findings and Purpose Statement, Number E, to state "assist in correction of dangerous or life threatening conditions that may be identified within the City" — replacing correction for the word identification. Councilmember Petschel stated that she would be comfortable with the change. Councilmember Duggan also commented that 12 -8 -3 Building and Structure Appearance and Safety Requirements has a recommendation that if someone does not want to replace a broken window with glass, they can board it up. He proposed there be a period after "glass" and strike ", or in the alternative, remodeling of the exterior by removing the window and its frame and replacing such window with exterior siding to match and blend in with the surrounding siding." Mayor Krebsbach asked that ", including retaining walls," be added to 12 -8 -3 Paragraph A. Councilmember Vitelli amended his motion to include the proposed changes. Councilmember Povolny stated that is acceptable to him as well. Ayes: 5 Nays: 0 November 20, 2012 Mendota Heights City Council Page 6 UPDATES MAC /RNAV Update Councilmember Petschel shared an update on the Metropolitan Airport Commission (MAC) by stating that she was at the MAC meeting where the issue before them was institution of Area Navigation (RNAV) procedures. After much testimony by Edina and Minneapolis, MAC voted to split the project. Operations would remain the same on the north parallels but on seventeen, twelve -left, and twelve- right, RNAV could be implemented, feeling that those communities could really benefit from RNAV. It is not known when it is going to be implemented. Councilmember Petschel testified before the MAC stating that her preference would be to do all of the runways or do none. She based that on testimony from the FAA that having the north ends of the runway operating differently from the south end would leave the airport at risk. Councilmember Vitelli commented that it was surprising to him that there is so much `to do' and all that is being done is improve navigation. Storm Cleanup City Administrator Justin Miller stated that late in the evening of November 10, 2012 there was a storm in Mendota Heights which was later determined to be a small tornado. The fire department, public works, and police department all responded. . There were no injuries reported. Sunday morning staff surveyed the damage which was localized to a few areas on the north end of town. It was staff's recommendation to the Council that debris would not be picked up city -wide. There were also questions about why the sirens did not go off. These storms that touched down in Burnsville, West St. Paul, Lilydale, and Mendota Heights literally came out of nowhere. There were no watches or warnings issued. Valley Park City Engineer John Mazzitello stated that last summer the city entered into a developer's agreement with Lilydale Apartments, LLC. As part of that development, the developer needed to remove a portion of Interstate Valley Creek Trail, which was to be restored. The construction season came to an abrupt end last November and they were unable to pave the trail by the end of 2011 and were poised to pave it in 2012. Early in the spring staff received word from MnDOT and Xcel Energy that they had utility work to do in the area and requested that the trail not be paved. The pavement was delayed and was intended to be finished in 2012 when they discovered there was an erosion issue in the area. MnDOT and Xcel will have to repair the erosion and it is going to delay pavement of the trail. He has word from Xcel Energy that it is their full intention to pave the trail at the earliest opportunity in the spring of 2013. Mayor Krebsbach asked if there were any postings explaining that the trail is not complete. City Engineer Mazzitello replied that the trail is passable, it is just not paved. Councilmember Duggan asked if Xcel Energy could be requested to do some screening or plantings in relation to the giant pipes that can be seen from I35E near Highway 13. City Engineer Mazzitello stated he would be happy to speak with Xcel about that. Councilmember Petschel stated the area appears to be very vulnerable. November. 20, 2012 Mendota Heights City Council Page 7 COUNCIL COMMENTS Councilmember Vitelli expressed his appreciation to city staff on the great response to the tornado. He was very impressed with their dedication. Councilmember Petschel stated she attended the Section 3 AA Diving Championship. A resident from the Copperfield Addition, who attends Cretin - Derham Hall High School, medaled and dove very close to a personal best. That is quite an accomplishment for someone who just recently took up the sport. Councilmember Duggan congratulated the Mayor on her election for another term. He also congratulated John Mazzitello for twenty -plus years of service to our country and on the awards and recognitions he has received. John also is obtaining his MBA and has a perfect 4.0 GPA. He also wished everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. Mayor Krebsbach thanked Councilmember Povolny and Councilmember Duggan for acknowledging her successful bid for another term as mayor; it was a very healthy campaign and was good for the city. She also noted the passing of Phil Bifulk, former resident of Mendota Heights and neighbor. She stated if the city ever has a task force on the water surcharge they should name it after Phil Bifulk who was very concerned about any kind of surcharge that was brought forward. She also commended the firemen on the Fire Relief Association's dance. It was very well attended. Besides protecting us, they do so much for building community and creating fun. The tree lighting at the Village is going to be Saturday, December 1, 2012 at 5:00 p.m. City Administrator Justin Miller expressed his appreciation to Lorri Smith and all of the election staff. It was a heavy election turnout and everything went very smoothly. There was an 88% voter turnout in Mendota Heights. ADJOURN Councilmember Duggan moved to adjourn the meeting. Councilmember Petschel seconded the motion. Ayes: 5 Nays: 0 Mayor Krebsbach adjourned the meeting at 7:54 p.m. Lorri Smith, City Clerk November 20, 2012 Mendota Heights City Council Page 8