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2007-07-17 City Council minutesPursuant to due call and Heights, Minnesota was Heights, Minnesota. CALL TO ORDER July 17, 2007 Page 1 CITY OF MENDOTA HEIGHTS DAKOTA COUNTY STATE OF MINNESOTA Minutes of the Regular Meeting Held Tuesday, July 17, 2007 notice thereof, the regular meeting of the City Council, City of Mendota held at 7:30 o'clock p.m. at City Hall, 1101 Victoria Curve, Mendota PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE AGENDA ADOPTION Ayes: 5 Nays: 0 APPROVAL OF MINUTES Ayes: 3 Nays: 0 Abstain: 2 (Schneeman, Vitelli) CONSENT CALENDAR Mayor Huber called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. The following members were present: Councilmembers Duggan, Krebsbach, Schneeman and Vitelli. Council, the audience and staff recited the Pledge of Allegiance. Councilmember Duggan moved adoption of the revised agenda as presented. Councihnerber Schneeman seconded the motion. Councilmember Duggan moved to approve the minutes of the July 3, 2007 City Council Meeting as revised. Councilmember Krebsbach seconded the motion. Councilmember Schneeman moved approval of the consent calendar as presented, pulling items b and j for further discussion, and authorization for execution of any necessary documents contained therein. a. Acknowledgement of the June 2007 Treasurer's Report. b. Acknowledgement of the No Parking Ordinance Update. c. Authorization for Date Change for ARC August Meeting. d. Authorization for Preparation of Easement Descriptions for Trail Connections e. Acceptance, with regret, of the resignation of Planning Commission Chair Chris Dolan. f. Approval of Pennit Request for Six Foot Fence at 2475 Highway 55, Tempco Manufacturing Co., Inc. Approval for Parking Lot Construction at 1110 Centre Point Drive. h. Approval for Issuance of Purchase Order for Paint for City Hall Gutters, Soffits, Fascia Board, and etc. g. Ayes: 5 Nays: 0 ITEMS PULLED FOR DISCUSSION Ayes: 5 Nays: 0 July 17, 2007 Page 2 i. Adoption of Resolution No. 07-65, "RESOLUTION ESTABLISHING PROCEDURES RELATING TO COMPLIANCE WITH REIMBURSEMENT BOND REGULATIONS 'UNDER THE INTERNAL REVENUE CODE." j. Adoption of Resolution No. 07-66, "RESOLUTION ORDERING PREPARATION OF FEASIBILITY STUDY FOR THE AVENUES NEIGHBORHOOD (CITY PROJECT NO. 200208), KAY AVENUE/ WALSH LANE (CITY PROJECT NO. 200209) AND CALLAHAN PLACE (CITY PROJECT NO. 200213) STREET RECONSTRUCTION PROEJCTS." k. Approval of the List of Contractors. 1. Approval of the List of Claims dated July 17, 2007 and totaling $946,520.04. Mayor Huber said that Planning Commission Chair Chris Dolan is resigning because he is moving to Sunfish Lake. Mayor Huber said Chris has done a terrific job for 61A years and Council will make a presentation to him at a future meeting. Councilmember Duggan seconded the motion. Item b.: Mayor Huber said the Council appreciates the update from Police Chief Aschenbrener and that he has been honored with more phone calls than the Police Department. Mayor Huber said there will be no resolution at this time. Mayor Huber said he has been telling residents that the City is doing this for a year, and wants to see what happens during that period. He reassured the residents that there will be further discussions about this topic as the year continues. Mayor Huber informed the council members that he would like to have more discussion on this issue. Councilmember Duggan said he had received three responses in opposition to this parking ordinance and another resident that was not sure. Councilmember Schneeman said she has received only positive feedback from many residents. Councilmember Schneeman suggested the residents call City Hall to give their opinions. Councilmember Schneeman moved to accept the Police Chief's report as presented. Councilmember Vitelli seconded the motion. July 17, 2007 Page 3 Item j: Councilmember Duggan said he drove around this area and agrees that the work needs to be done. Councilmember Duggan asked if 1st Avenue and the west side of Clement are the streets that currently have curb and gutter. All the other streets do not have them, except for the intersections, and a small section along a curved area. Councilmember Duggan suggested that the residents be asked if they desire to have curb and gutter and the incurred costs. Councilmember Duggan said the neighborhoods have a certain charm when there are no curbs and gutters, and to have all the streets curb and guttered, it may take away from the chain' of the neighborhood. He would like to see the new roads put in, but perhaps leaving some of the roads without the curb and gutter, and seeing what the majority of the residents on those roads feel would be better. Councilmember Vitelli said he would be against not putting in curb and gutter. Councilmember Duggan said there was a time a few years ago where the residents did not want curb and gutter on their new roads, and this was accepted by the City Council at that time. Public Works Director Sue McDermott said the streets in the Somerset neighborhood were reconstructed with curb and gutter but without the curb and gutter on Colshire Avenue. This street is now experiencing some edging breaking up as people are parking on that edge, and sometimes into the lawns. Public Works has been replacing sod every year because people are parking there and causing ruts. Ms. McDermott said two residents told her that if they had known this would happen they would have pushed harder for the curb and gutter on that street. Mayor Huber pointed out that the city participates in the cost of full reconstruction with curb and gutter and assesses the costs for 20 years but does not participate in the cost for reconstruction without curb and gutter and assesses it for ten years. Either way, the cost will be about the same on a per-year basis. Councilmember Duggan moved adoption of Resolution No. 07- 65, "RESOLUTION ORDERING PREPARATION OF FEASIBILITY REPORT FOR THE AVENUES NEIGHBORHOOD (CITY PROJECT NO. 200208); KAY AVENUE/WALSH LANE (CITY PROJECT NO. 200209) AND CALLAHAN PLACE (CITY PROJECT NO. 200213) STREET RECONSTRUCTION PROJECTS." Councilmember Duggan seconded the motion. 2006 AUDIT REPORT July 17, 2007 Page 4 Finance Director Kristen Schabacker introduced Mr. Jeff Wilson, HLB Tautges Redpath, who is the City's auditing firm. Mr. Wilson presented the 2006 Audit Review and answered questions. The reports that were issues were the Annual Financial Report, The Audit Management Letter, the State Legal Compliance Report, and the Report on Internal Control. A snap shot of these reports are as follows: Annual Financial Reports: • Financial statements are the responsibility of management. • Independent auditor role is to report on the fair presentation on the financial statements. • "Clean Opinion" on the 2006 financial statements. • MD &A authored by city staff, intended to provide narrative of financial statement amounts. State Legal Compliance Report: • Office of the State Auditor (OSA) established a task force to develop audit guide for legal compliance. • Audit Guide covers seven categories: contracting and bidding, deposits and investments, conflicts of interest, public indebtedness, claims and disbursement, miscellaneous provisions, and tax increment financing. • There were no findings of noncompliance. Report on Internal Control: • The 2006 Report is based on a new auditing standard, Statement on Auditing Standards #112 (SAS 112). • SAS 112 lowered the threshold for reporting of internal control matters and established new definitions. • One significant deficiency was noted — written documentation of internal control policies and procedures are not on file. Mr. Wilson said this deficiency was found in all the surrounding cities, as this is a new rule and cities will be correcting this for 2007. Mendota Heights only had this one finding, where many of the other cities have multiple findings Management Letter: • Provides government -wide financial statement analysis. • Audit committee communications. • Accounting and auditing standards update. Mr. Wilson said the City of Mendota Heights does not have a faunal audit committee. ARC PLAN OF ACTION July 17, 2007 Page 5 Councilmember Krebsbach said she would like to have clarification on the rise in the City's assets. Mr. Wilson referred to the report indicating where those assets are listed, which represent a $1.5M increase in assets. Mayor Huber asked Mr. Wilson how big a city must be before having their own audit committee. Mr. Wilson said cities (general population of 30,000) in general do not have their own committees. Councilmember Vitelli acknowledged that the Finance Department is made up of Kristin Schabacker as the City keeps a very lean staff. Councilmember Vitelli said Ms. Schabacker has done a very good job. Liz Petschel, ARC Chair, acknowledged fellow commissioners in the audience (Commissioner Ehrlich and Commissioner Dunn). Ms. Petschel reviewed the "2007 Airport Noise Plan of Action", prepared by the Mendota Heights Airport Relations Commission. Ms. Petschel talked about the commission's three main goals: 1) Preventing excursions out of the northern boundary of the corridor. • There should be no aircraft north of Highway 110 and there have been. A percentage of excursions under 1% is acceptable (due to weather conditions), but when it gets beyond the 1%, ARC feels that is unacceptable. • This percentage has been increasing and it's been brought to the attention of the Noise Oversight Committee. It was found that the percentage is higher than ever since the airport has been in existence. • Consensus is that there are inexperienced traffic controllers and regional aircraft that are causing these percentages to climb. a. For regional aircraft, ARC received patinission from NOC to obtain an operational change on the City's end of the runway, which means no aircraft can start making a turn on that 90° heading until they are at the end of the runway, which will keep them in the corridor. b. There has been a tremendous turnover in the traffic tower of air traffic controllers. 2) Holding the FAA to the EIS on the new runway in ternis of the percentage of operations over Mendota Heights. • Mendota Heights was carrying many more flights than Eagan, and up to 40% night operations. July 17, 2007 Page 6 • ARC did all their documenting and took it to NOC to get a resolution that they think has been sent to Carl Rydeen and all the way to the Midwest Center in Chicago. They were told that they must abide by the EIS and ARC has an assurance that this will be done. ARC will be monitoring this to see how well they abide by it. 3) Legislation objective. • ARC has had frustration over the years in terns of the people who are appointed to MAC who represent us. Ms. Petschel was quick to say it's not that these people are unkind, it is just that ARC feels very disconnected from them, and that they have a very poor working knowledge of issues that affect the constituency and a poor working knowledge of the airport in general. • ARC has testified at the legislature at this past session that they would like their own representative appointed on behalf of the Mendota Heights just as St. Paul and Minneapolis has. • Ms. Petschel said she feels there is a will in the legislature to hold MAC more accountable. She says there needs to be a change, but does not know what that change will be right now. • ARC has a commitment from the legislature to hold hearings this summer and have been in constant contact with Rick Hanson and Jim Metzen. Ms. Petschel provided some of her observations: • After a number of years on ARC, she would like to give special recognition to Jim Danielson, Jake Sedlacek, and Linda Shipton for all their hard work with the ARC. • Ms. Petschel also gave special recognition to the ARC members and staff. • For the first time, she feels the City and the ARC is really starting to work together as a group. • ARC will be having a meeting on August 6th at 5:30 in City Hall. Chad Leqve will be giving a presentation about shutting down 12R for reconstruction and what it will mean for Mendota Heights in terms of extra air noise from the middle of August to the middle of October. • Airbuses will not be able to land at the airport as the weight is more than what the airport runways can handle, as well as the wing span being too wide. Dreamliners are corning out this year, which is a much lighter aircraft that promises less noise. Mayor Huber thanked Ms. Petschel for her presentation and all her dedication that she gives to ARC. Mayor Huber expressed his concerns about the surrounding communities. Ms. Petschel said originally, the cities that went into this looking for the Ayes: 5 Nays: 0 July 17, 2007 Page 7 legislation and anybody that has land in their city in the 65DNL. (Inver Grove Heights takes more noise than Burnsville). Ms. Petschel said it's tough to decide who is entitled to better representation. Ms. Petschel said over the years she has been involved, she is now ready to accept anything that is better than what is currently in place. Any kind of shakeup of the MAC structure would be an improvement. Councihnember Vitelli thanked Ms. Petschel and ARC and said this team has made tremendous progress in the last two years in building relationships with the legislature and MAC, as well as Mendota Heights City Council and other city councils in the area. Councilmember Vitelli said tonight's presentation was outstanding. Councilmember Schneeman said Ms. Petschel has done a good job in orientating all the new members of ARC, and that this new team has a good knowledge of what's going on. Councilmember Krebsbach said Ms. Petschel has added credibility to the group, and that the prior team and the current team are both good groups in that they build onto the next. Councilmember Krebsbach commended Ms. Petschel on the position that is being taken in teinis of looking at ways to gain representation for Mendota Heights, and that she supports Ms. Petschel in any direction she takes. Councilmember Duggan said he believes this is a very acrimonious position and both Ms. Petschel and ARC have presented themselves with a clear sense of statesmanship. They have handled MAC staff and the legislative body, leaving Mendota Heights at a huge excellent position as a leader and one of the first groups who have an ARC presenting positions clearly, logically and accurately. Councilmember Duggan pointed out that all the facts and figures have been provided by the FAA, and congratulated this committee for the great work they have done, and are willing to continue doing. Councilmember Duggan moved adoption of the Mendota Heights ARC Plan of Action for 2007. Councilmember Krebsbach seconded the motion. Ms. Petschel said the NOC are people who are honorable, consensus-building people. The mantra for NOC has been "all for one, one for all", and there will be no more divide and conquer among the cities. BID AWARD 2007 SANITARY SEWER REHABILITATION Ayes: 5 Nays: 0 BID AWARD: IVY FALLS ADDITION STREETS BOURN PROPERTY July 17, 2007 Page 8 Councilmember Duggan reminded the audience about the upcoming ARC meeting on August 6th and encouraged residents to attend. Ms. McDermott said the City has received four bids for the 2007 Sanitary Sewer Rehabilitation Project. The project consists of lining approximately 3,000 feet of sanitary sewer throughout the north end of the city. The low bid was submitted by Michels Corporation in the amount of $89,019.50. The engineer's estimate was $107,872.00. Michels Corporation completed the sewer lining project last year as well and did a great job. Ms. McDermott said she recommends acceptance of this bid and award the contract to Michels Corporation. Councilmember Vitelli moved to adopt Resolution No. 07-67, "A RESOLUTION ACCEPTING BIDS AND AWARDING CONTRACT FOR 2007 SANITARY SEWER REHABILITATION (PROJECT No. 200715)." Councilmember Duggan seconded the motion. Councilmember Duggan said this will cost the residents $30.00 per foot. Ms. McDermott said the City has received seven bids for the Ivy Falls Street Reconstruction Project. These streets include Woodridge Drive, Arcadia, Maple Park Court, Falls View Court, Cascade Lane, Maple Park Drive, and Sylvandale Road. The low bidder was Park Construction Company in the amount of $822,601.92. Their bid was less than the city engineer's estimate of $925,978.50. Park Construction has previously done the culvert work on Wagon Wheel Trail and Staff feels they will do a good job on this project. Ms. McDermott said she recommends acceptance of this bid and award of the contract to Park Construction. Councilmember Duggan moved to adopt Resolution No. 07-68, "A RESOLUTION ACCEPTING BIDS AND AWARDING CONTRACT FOR IVY FALLS ADDITION STREET RECONSTRUCTION (PROJECT No. 200603)." Councilmember Schneeman seconded the motion. Assistant to the City Administrator Jake Sedlacek said there has been past discussion regarding the Bourn property, located at 1181 Bourn Lane. This property is a part of a group of parcels which the City has been acquiring for potential business use. These properties are wedged in between Highway 55 and the existing industrial park, and are subject to significant air noise. Ayes: 5 Nays: 0 July 17, 2007 Page 9 The Bourn family has expressed interest in selling the parcel to the City. City Planner Steve Grittman said the best use for this property would be for business use. The Dakota County Assessor feels strongly that the assessed value of $207,100 is correct for that property. The Bourn family is interested in selling to the City of Mendota Heights for the assessed value. Councilmember Duggan moved approval authorizing the City Attorney to draft a purchase agreement to acquire the property. Councilmember Schneeman seconded the motion. Councilmember Duggan suggested the City consider a senior housing facility as a future use for this property. 2008 BUDGET WORKSHOP City Administrator Jim Danielson said he would like to have a budget meeting on Tuesday, August 28, 2007. Ayes: 5 Nays: 0 ADJOURN Ayes: 5 Nays: 0 Councilmember Duggan moved approval for the 2008 Budget Workshop to be held on Tuesday, August 28, 2007 at 5:30 pm at City Hall. Councilmember Schneeman seconded the motion. There being no further business to come before Councilmember Duggan, moved to adjourn the City Council meeting. Councilmember Krebsbach seconded the motion. Time of Adjourmnent: 8:30 p.m. e ecca Shaffer ATTEST: Recording Secretary