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1980-03-18 Council minutesPage 1238 March 18, 1980 CITY OF MENDOTA HEIGHTS - DAKOTA COUNTY . . STATE OF MINNESOTA Minutes of the Regular Meeting Held Tuesday, March 18, 1980 Pursuant to due.call and notice thereof, the.regular meeting of the City Council, City of Mendota Heights, was held at 7:30 o'clock P.M. at the City Hall, 750 South Plaza Drive, Mendota Heights, Minnesota. Mayor Lockwood called the meeting to order at 7:30 o'clock P.M. The following members were present: Mayor Lockwood, Councilmen .Hartmann, Losleben and Mertensotto and Councilwoman Witt. APPROVAL OF Mayor Lockwood moved approval of the minutes of the March 4th MINUTES meeting with correction. Councilwoman Witt seconded the motion. Ayes: 5 Nays: 0 ASSESSMENT Mayor Lockwood opened the meeting for the purpose of a public HEARING hearing on,the proposed assessment roll for public improvements in the South Ridge Addition and adjacent areas. Administrator Johnson gave a brief history of the project. He stated that in accordance with a request from the developer at the time of platting, all properties within the plat area are proposed to be assessed uniformly. He advised that the total project cost amounted to $423,097.80. It is proposed that each of the 53 lots within the South Ridge Addition be assessed at $7,330.86. He further stated that the proposed roll was prepared to reflect assessing the McCloud/Allstrom properties one-half of the sanitary sewer outfall costs and one-third of the cost of the south storm sewer system, as was proposed in the feasibility study. Treasurer Shaughnessy advised the Council that no formal action has been taken by the Legislature on proposed legislation to increase the 7% interest rate limit for municipal bonds. He recommended that the Council defer adoption of assessment rolls and establishment of interest-rates1therefor until action is taken by the Legislature. Mayor Lockwood asked for questions and comments from the audience. Mr. John Giovannini, Director of Operations for the Amherst Wilder • Foundation, asked for a clarification of the proposed assessment amounts for the property owned by the Foundation which was formerly owned by Dr. C.N. McCloud. The Council also acknowledged receipt of letters from the Wilder Foundation, Mr. M. David McCloud, and Mr. H. Willard Allstrom, requesting assessment deferments. Ayes: 5 Nays: 0 Page 1239 March 18, 1980 There.being no further questions or comments from the audience, Councilman Mertensotto moved that the hearing be closed at 8:05 o'clock P.M. Councilman Hartmann seconded the motion. The Council directed staff to prepare a history of assessments and assessment deferments on the Allstrom/McCloud property. Discussion on the Wilder.Foundation request for a continuation of deferments was continued pending receipt of the staff report. ASSESSMENT Mayor Lockwood.opened the meeting for the purpose of a public HEARING hearing on the proposed.assessment roll for the Medallion Industrial Park improvements. Administrator Johnson briefly reviewed the project. The Council discussed the various methods .available for.financing of the proposed assessment.attributabl.e to the Public Works Garage site. Mayor Lockwood asked for questions and comments from the audience. There being no.questions or .comments, Councilman Mertensotto moved that the hearing be.closed at 8:18 o'clock P.M. Councilman Hartmann seconded the motion. Ayes: 5 Nays: 0 SENIOR CITIZEN HOUSING The Council directed.staff to study and prepare a report and recommendation on financing of the City portion of the project cost. Mr. Morris Manning and.Mr.. John Briscoe, of the Amherst Wilder Foundation, were present to discuss a senior citizen housing development proposal. Mr. Manning described a tour of senior citizen facilities by the Foundation representatives, City Council members and City staff and public which was conducted on March 17th. Mr. Manning stated that funds are available for elderly and handicapped rental assistance through the HUD Section 202 housing program. He stated that the property being considered for development, a six acre parcel of land along T.H.149 and south of the Mendakota Country Club, meets Section 202 requirements. He stated.that the proposal would be to construct a three-story structure which would consist of 85to 115 housing units. He indicated that the Foundation would apply for the HUD funding but needs a City commitment on zoning and an option on the property prior to application. Copies of a memo of agreement relating to the.proposal were distributed to the Council. It was noted that the unit rental would be from $365 to $385 per month, and that the Foundation would pay full annual real estate taxes on the property .. Mr. Manning stated that the project would not conflict with any earlier agreements between Dakota County HRA and the.City. Mr. Briscoe stated that he estimates that 300 to 350 people now living in Mendota Heights would qualify for the Section 202 program. He further stated that the structure would be "integrated" into.the.neighborhood, that the Foundation would RECESS LEO PARTNERSHIP Page 1240 March 18, 1980 use architects to design the structure into the local neighborhood, using compatible design and materials. Councilman LosIeben felt that the City should require individual ownership of housing units (a cooperative) rather than the rental-type units. He suggested the possibility of City financing for such a "cooperative" project. Mr. Briscoe explained financing for a cooperative. Treasurer Shaughnessy stated that Congress is against local government housing, and reviewed the red tape involved in establishing a municipal type of HRA. Mr. Paul Esch, representing Bream Homes, questioned the compatibility of senior citizen housing and high quality single family development. Councilman Mertensotto felt that the units are too small. He pointed out that the rental concept is questionable, however, cooperative-type housing is not financially feasible. Mr. Briscoe stated that the City could request the Foundation to consider a "Wilder Park" concept for the site. After lengthy discussion, Mayor Lockwood pointed out that it seems apparent that the Council would not render a majority vote in favor of the agreement. He suggested that the Council proceed with the agenda. Mayor Lockwood called a recess at 9:57 o'clock P.M. The meeting was reconvened at 10:05 o'clock P.M. Financial Advisor Shaughnessy advised the Council that he and City Attorney Winthrop had been working on the industrial revenue financing for LEO Partnership and that all documents had been reviewed and are in order. He noted that the temporary construction loan is carried by the Bloomington Northwestern National Bank and the permanent financing is with the Ministers' Life and Casualty Union. Councilman Mertensotto moved the adoption of Resolution No. 80-27, "NOTE RESOLUTION, COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT REVENUE NOTE OF 1980 (L.E.O. PARTNERSHIP PROJECT)," authorizing the Mayor and Clerk to sign the necessary documents. Councilwoman Witt seconded the motion. Ayes: 5 Nays: 0 VALLEY VIEW City Administrator Johnson noted that he had received a check OAKS for $1,500 from Dr. Leo Culligan in payment for Valley View Oaks Addition planning fees already incurred by the City. He advised that Dr. Culligan has also submitted a $20,000 letter of credit as an escrow for engineering costs estimated to be incurred by the City through the date the construction contract is authorized. Page 1241 March 18, 1980 Mayor Lockwood moved the adoption of Resolution No. 80-28, "RESOLUTION ACCEPTING ENGINEER'S REPORT AND ORDERING PREPARATION OF PLANS AND SPECIFICATIONS THEREFOR (IMPROVEMENT NO. 79, PROJECT NO. 8)," Councilman Losleben seconded the motion. Ayes: 5 Nays: 0 DEPARTMENT The Fire Department.monthly report for February was received and REPORTS acknowledged. Councilman Mertensotto advised the Council of an alleged slow fire response. Staff was directed to investigate the matter. The Council acknowledged the Police Department monthly report for February. Councilwoman Witt noted that she had talked with several civic groups regarding the Operation I.D. program ard that they had expressed interest in.promoting the program. The matter was referred to .Captain Lange for further contact with the interested groups. The Council acknowledged and briefly discussed the Code Enforcement Officer's monthly report for February. COMMUNICATIONS Administrator Johnson distributed a hand-out memo from Lee Starr of the Metropolitan Council relating to a meeting to be held on April 9th for a discussion of inter-community drainage issues by elected officials from Lilydale, Mendota, Mendota Heights and West St. Paul. Administrator Johnson noted that the meeting had been called.in response to a request from Mrs. Kathy Ridder, district representative from the Metropolitan Council. FIRE DEPARTMENT Administrator Johnson briefly reviewed a proposed resolution RECRUITMENT commending the Volunteer Fire Department members and encouraging active recruitment of new members. After discussion, Councilman Losleben moved the adoption of Resolution No. 80-29, "RESOLUTION COMMENDING VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT AND URGING ACTIVE RECRUITMENT." Councilman Hartmann seconded the motion. Ayes: 5 Nays: 0 LABOR AGREEMENT Administrator Johnson briefly advised the Council on the status of the Public Works Department labor contract mediation. MISCELLANEOUS Mayor Lockwood stated that he had received a letter from the Governor's office recommending that the week of April 20-26 be proclaimed Volunteer Recognition Week. He recommended that the Council adopt a resolution to establish the subject week as a special time in which to recognize the various volunteer groups serving in Mendota Heights. Mayor Lockwood moved the adoption of Resolution No. 80-30, "RESOLUTION PROCLAIMING VOLUNTEER RECOGNITION WEEK." Councilman Losleben seconded the motion. Ayes: 5 Nays: 0 Page 1242 March 18, 1980 MISCELLANEOUS The Council acknowledged receipt of the Engineering Status Report for February. ROLLING GREEN City Engineer Kishel reviewed the proposed assessment roll for the Rolling Green Addition and the several concerns on cost increases since the feasibility hearing. He noted that the total project cost is proposed to be spread uniformly over each of the 57 lots within the plat, as was requested by the developer during the platting process. The rate per lot, if the lift station and equalizer pipe costs are included would be S11,527 per lot. He noted that the assessment rate estimated in the feasibility study was $7,300 per lot. Mr. Kishel stated that if the lift station cost is carried on general obligation, the cost per lot would be $10,873; if both the equalizer pipe and lift station costs are placed on general obligation, the cost per lot would be $9,800. Mr. Kishel noted several reasons for the increased project costs, including: lift station modifications which were not included in the feasibility study; a construction bid $50,000 above what was anticipated; and unstable soil conditions. Mr. Kishel asked the Council for direction on how to address the lift station and equalizer pipe costs. As the result of the discussion, the Council directed that the lift station costs be carried on general obligation and that the equalizer pipe be • treated as an assessible project cost. Mr. Kishel was directed to proceed with assessment roll preparation. ROYAL REDEEMER Engineer Kishel distributed revised copies of the proposed ASSESSMENT ROLL assessment roll for Royal Redeemer area improvements. SENIOR CITIZEN CoOncilman Losleben asked that the matter of senior citizen housing HOUSING be placed back on the table to allow further discussion by the Council, staff and members of the audience. Mayor Lockwood reopened the matter for discussion. After considerable discussion, Mayor Lockwood moved that the memorandum of agreement submitted by the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation relative to a proposed Section 202 Senior Citizen Housing Project be approved and that the Mayor and City Clerk are authorized to sign any documents necessary to effectuate such agreement. Ayes: 4 Councilwoman Witt seconded the motion. Nays: 1 Mertensotto MISCELLANEOUS The Council acknowledged receipt of the Treasurer's Report for February. SURPLUS The Council was advised that bids had been received on the sale of EQUIPMENT the surplus 1977 Plymouth squad car. It was noted that three bids had been received and that the high bid was in the amount of $1,038.00. Mayor Lockwood moved the adoption of Resolution No. 80-31, "RESOLUTION ACCEPTING BIDS AND AUTHORIZING SALE OF SURPLUS EQUIPMENT," awarding the bid to Roger Plath for his high bid of $1,038.00. Councilman Losleben seconded the motion. Ayes: 5 Nays: 0 LIST OF CLAIMS Page 1243 March 18, 1980 Councilman Hartmann moved approval of the List of Claims submitted with the agenda. Councilwoman Witt seconded the motion. Ayes: 5 Nays: 0 LICENSES Mayor Lockwood moved approval of the list of licenses, granting licenses to: West End Air Conditioning Company Fournier Rubbish Removal D.V.M., Inc. Gas Heating License Rubbish Hauler License Cigarette License Councilwoman Witt seconded the motion. Ayes: 5 Nays: 0 MISCELLANEOUS Councilman Mertensotto breifly reported on Fire Facilities Committee activities. ADJOURN There being no further business to come before the Council, Councilwoman Witt moved that the meeting be adjourned. Councilman Hartmann seconded the motion. Ayes: 5 Nays: 0 Time .of.',.A4ournment: 11:54 o'clock P.M. ATTEST: Robert G. Lockwood Mayor 5e,e-Zie,m 72 Kafthleen M. Swanson City Clerk