11-22-2021 City Council MinutesOTSEGO CITY COUNCIL MEETING
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2021
7:00 PM
OTSEGO PRAIRIE CENTER
Call to Order.
Mayor Stockamp called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM.
Roll Call:
Mayor Jessica Stockamp; Councilmembers: Tom Darkenwald, Jeff Dahl, and Brittany Moores. City Staff:
City Administrator/Finance Director Adam Flaherty, Human Resources/Assistant City Administrator
Sabrina Hille, City Attorney Dave Kendall; City Engineer Ron Wagner; City Planner Daniel Licht (*); and
City Clerk Audra Etzel. Absent: Council Member Tina Goede.
(*) Attended via video conference.
Pledge of Allegiance: Mayor Stockamp led in the Pledge of Allegiance.
1. Open Forum:
Mayor Stockamp opened the Open Forum at 7:01 PM. No one from the public spoke.
Mayor Stockamp closed the Open Forum at 7:01 PM.
2. Consider Agenda Approval.
CM Moores motioned to approve the agenda as written, seconded by CM Dahl.
Voted in favor; Darkenwald, Stockamp, Moores, and Dahl. Voted against; none. Motion
carried 4-0.
3. Consent Agenda.
3.1 Approve Claims List.
3.2 Approve City Council Meeting Minutes.
A. November 8, 2021 Meeting.
B. November 8, 2021 Special Meeting,
3.3 Approve 1 Hour Closure of City Offices for an Employee Recognition Event.
3.4 Not Waive Monetary Limits on Municipal Tort Liability Insurance.
3.5 Cancel the Regular City Council Meeting Scheduled for December 27, 2021.
3.6 Approve an Amendment to the West WWTF Professional Services Agreement.
3.7 Approve Grant Application to Minnesota's City Managers Association.
CM Moores motioned to approve the consent agenda as written, seconded by CM Dahl.
Voted in favor; Stockamp, Darkenwald, Moores, and Dahl. Voted against; none. Motion
carried 4-0.
4. Planning.
4.1 R+L Carriers:
A. Presentation by City Planner Licht.
B. Consider Ordinance 2021-24 Amending the Zoning Map.
C. Consider Approval of Preliminary Plat & Site and Building Plans.
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MINUTES OF THE CITY OF OTSEGO REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING NOVEMBER 22, 2021
City Planner Licht presented the staff report.
Mr. Stan Richards of R+L Carriers shared a PowerPoint presentation and stated he agrees with the
Engineering and Planning Reports.
Engineer Wagner noted the design of Queens Avenue was intended for this type of traffic.
CM Darkenwald asked how many fuel lanes will be included. Mr. Richards said there will be one island
with three lanes for fueling. CM Darkenwald asked about the photos of the existing sites, the main
difference is the asphalt vs. the concrete; both buildings are unfinished. CM Darkenwald asked why
there are two detention ponds vs. one. City Engineer Wagner said the east flows towards the Kwik Trip
property and the rest towards the existing pond on 701h Street NE, this is why there are two locations.
He added the tractor parking extends towards 701h Street NE would require a fence on the south side,
but due to the setbacks some of the stalls may need to be adjusted.
CM Moores asked for clarification regarding the drivers shifts. Mr. Richards said the forklift drivers come
in around 4:30-5am to move the freight and the local drivers arrive typically after 8am and disburse
around 8:30-9am. There will always be some adjustments to the schedule. Drivers start coming back
around 4:30-5pm or up to 8pm depending on the route schedule and additional freight picked -up. The
over the road phase has two parts. Many of the drivers go only 4-5 hours away from the facilities,
where the other 10-15% are long hauler drivers. Their business is considered a 24-hour operation. The
mechanics do work on the trucks at night so the trucks are ready for the morning shift. There will be a
few trucks that will come throughout the night because of scheduling.
Mayor Stockamp asked why they selected Otsego. Mr. Richards said their marketing department found
this location which made sense for logistics. The location is a great site and they have had a good
experience working with the City The land was already guided for Industrial use. He added the City
Engineer and City Planner were a great team to work with.
Mayor Stockamp asked if all the semitruck stalls will have vehicles parked on site? Mr. Richards said
they are overbuilding this site for future expansion. Due to the changes with consumers wanting
product delivered to their homes, they are preparing for the demand. They have 120 facilities and 39
are currently under a need for expansion. There is a misconception with 100 having all the dock doors.
They plan to start out with 25-35 trucks for hauling. Mr. Richard explained the different types of trailers
that may be used. The truck and trailers are disconnected when parked overnight.
Mayor Stockamp asked about the maintenance noise when worked on overnight, what kind of noise
would be anticipated. Mr. Richards said the doors will be open in the summer and there would be noise
from the equipment used to do the maintenance. The shifts would be 11 PM -7 AM and second shift
during the day, to be determined. Planner Licht added the maintenance building will be south of the
terminal building which acts as a buffer and the doors will open on the opposite sides.
Mayor Stockamp asked how many employees they plan to employ. Mr. Richards said they plan hire
about 115 employees to start and anticipating about 8-10% growth per year.
Mr. Richards said he has heard from the neighborhood and has tried to address their concerns. CM
Darkenwald asked what R+L brings to the community today and the future? Mr. Richards said they are
a unique company and with 16,000 employees. The owner created four different employee resorts for
their employees to use. They believe when you care about the employees, the employees care about
the company and the community where they work. R+L wants to be a good neighbor. Mr. Richards is
the director of building maintenance and will be back at the Otsego site.
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MINUTES OF THE CITY OF OTSEGO REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING NOVEMBER 22, 2021
CM Moores questioned the exterior of the building. Mr. Richards said the building will be white with
green trim.
CM Darkenwald motioned to adopt Ordinance 2021-24 amending the Zoning Map and
approve the RLC Addition preliminary plat and site and building plans for R+L Carriers
subject to the conditions stated within the Findings of Fact and Decision as presented,
seconded by CM Dahl.
Voted in favor; Stockamp, Darkenwald, Moores, and Dahl. Voted against; none. Motion
carried 4-0.
CM Darkenwald asked about their construction plans. Mr. Richards thinks the permitting will take 3-4
months, possibly start this spring; taking 10-12 months to complete the building.
S. Engineering:
5.1 Permanent Easement to Northern Natural Gas Company.
A. Presentation by City Engineer Wagner.
B. Consider Approval of Granting a Permanent Easement.
CM Darkenwald said his family owns property adject to this property, he asked City Attorney Kendall if
he should abstain and City Attorney Kendall agreed. CM Darkenwald will abstain and recused himself
from the discussion and stepped down from the dais at 8:01 PM.
City Engineer Wagner said Northern Natural Gas (NNG) has acquired a permanent easement for
construction of a TBS station located just north of Kwik Trip on the north side of 72nd Street, near CSAH
38 and TH 101. In order to access the new facility and the pipeline easement just to the north of it, a
small ingress/egress easement is necessary. The easement is 54' long by 30' wide. This access has
been used since TH 101 became a freeway and River Bend South was platted. This is just memorializing
that use. The City Attorney drafted the easement language which NNG has also agreed to.
CM Dahl motioned approve granting a Permanent Easement to Northern Natural Gas
Company, seconded by Mayor Stockamp.
Voted in favor; Stockamp, Moores, and Dahl. Voted against; none. Abstained; CM
Darkenwald. Motion carried 3-0.
CM Darkenwald rejoined the meeting at 8:04 PM
6. City Council Reports and Updates.
Mayor Stockamp asked about holiday cards for the Commission members. City Clerk Etzel will get cards
for the City Council to sign.
6.1 Commission Liaison Updates:
A. Heritage Preservation Commission - Liaison CM Moores had no update.
B. Parks and Recreation Commission - Liaison CM Moores said they discussed the budget
and the upcoming Santa Day event scheduled for Saturday, December 11t"
C. Planning Commission - Liaison CM Darkenwald asked the City Planner what will be
discussed at the December 6t" meeting. City Planner Licht said GCC of America and PUD Amendment for
Rivers Edge Phase II. City Planner Licht also updated that at the last meeting the Planning Commission
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MINUTES OF THE CITY OF OTSEGO REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING NOVEMBER 22, 2021
recommended an ordinance amendment for self -storage facilities along with a policy addressing the W-
WWTF capacity.
D. Public Safety Commission - Liaison Mayor Stockamp said Albertville had 4 new hires (32
of 33 positions filled), Elk River had 14 new hires (51 of 60 positions filed) for their three departments,
preparing for upcoming retirements, fire academy is about 6 months for a new fire fighter, seasonal
parking reminders with Wright County Sheriff's Office.
There was discussion with the fire departments regarding improvements in attending the public safety
meeting. The Fire Departments would like to attend quarterly vs. monthly for a better use of their time
working with staff. The City Council discussed the Fire Departments attending quarterly vs. monthly as
long as communication is kept open. The Fire Department monthly reports will still be received.
7. Staff Reports and Updates.
City Administrator/Finance Director Flaherty said city offices are closed this Thursday and Friday for
Thanksgiving.
Human Resources/Assistant City Administrator Hille will submit the MCMA grant application and keep the
City Council updated. The grants are due December 3rd with possible news in about a month.
City Engineer Wagner said the Walesch Estates survey is complete. There are currently four active
developments and the city projects are done for the winter. Mayor Stockamp asked about the grass not
being established along the trail project. Engineer Wagner said it has been a difficult project and they
are looking to close out; there are some liquidated damages and suggests having City staff finish up the
touch-up portions of the projects. Mayor Stockamp agreed with the recommendation to have staff finish
the project.
Sergeant Oltmans said they have hired two new staff. There have been thefts from motor vehicles and
are looking at having their staff do some undercover vehicles to catch the thieves. The staff is
continuing to work on training and prepare for the holiday season. The holidays create more calls from
domestics to DWIs. Sergeant Oltmans will continue to attend the monthly Public Safety Commission
meetings.
8. Adjournment.
CM Darkenwald motioned to adjourn at 8:23 PM, seconded by CM Moores.
Voted in favor; Stockamp, Darkenwald, Moores, and Dahl. Voted against; none. Motion
carried 4-0.
ATTEST:
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Audra Etzel, City Clerk
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Jessica Stockamp, Mayor