Loading...
10-14-1991 City Council MinutesSTATE OF MN The City Council of the City of COUNTY OF WRIGHT Otsego met this 14 day of Oct, CITY OF OTSEGO 1991 at 7:00 PM. Norman F Freske, Mayor, Doug Lindenfelser, Floyd Roden, Larry Fournier, and Ron Black, Council Members, Jerome Perrault, Clerk, James Barthel, Treasurer, Elaine Beatty, Deputy Clerk, Judy Hudson, Secretary, Larry Koshak, Engineer, Bill Radzwill and Mike Couri, Attorneys, were present. The Assessment Hearing on the Packard Ave. Construction Project preceded the regular Council Meeting. (Packard Ave. between 60th and 70th Streets). The Assessment Hearing was called to order by Mayor Norman Freske. Attorney Bill Radzwill explained the project costs. Construction cost will be $162,000; Engineering and Administrative $37,500; Capitalized Interest $6,300; Contingencies $4,200; for a total project cost of $210,000. Twenty one parcels will be assessed $2,500 each for a total of $52,500 with the balance of $157,500 to be paid by the City. Assessment payments with interest at 8.25% will be $360.22 per year for 11 years on each parcel assessed. Engineer Larry Koshak gave a progress report on the project. He said the grade work is done, the base gravel is down and he will have to decide soon whether to lay the bituminous or wait until spring, his decision depending on the weather and how the grade tests out. Norman Freske asked if the Contractor had exceeded the time limit on the project. Larry Koshak explained that an allowance had to be made for the bad weather during construction. He said the grade would need to be checked to see if it was acceptable to be black topped now or left until spring. Bituminous could cost more next spring if oil prices rise, also some base gravel could be lost over winter. Motion by Floyd Roden to adopt the following Resolution: Be it resolved that the City Council of the City of Otsego hereby ratifies the actions of the City Clerk in regard to matters pertaining to the Assessment Hearing and determining cost to be assessed to benefiting property owners in the construction project of Packard Ave. between 60th and 70th Streets. The motion was seconded by Larry Fournier, all Council Members voted in favor of the motion. Motion by Ron Black to adopt the following Resolution: Be it resolved that the City Council of the City of Otsego hereby approves and adopts the Assessment Roll for the construction project of Packard Ave between 60th & 70th Streets. The motion was seconded by Doug Lindenfelser, all Council Members voted in favor of the motion. The regular Council Meeting was now called to order by Mayor Norman Freske. Planner Dave Licht was now present at the meeting. Motion by Doug Lindenfelser to approve the Minutes of the Sept. 5, 1991, Budget Meeting. Seconded by Ron Black, CITY OF OTSEGO, CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF OCTOBER 14, 1991 Page 2 all Council Members voted in favor of the motion. Motion by Larry Fournier to approve the Minutes of the Sept. 19, 1991, Special Council Meeting. Seconded by Doug Lindenfelser, all Council Members voted in favor of the motion. Motion by Larry Fournier to approve the Minutes of the Sept. 23, 1991, Council Meeting. Seconded by Floyd Roden, all Council Members voted in favor of the motion. Motion by Doug Lindenfelser to approve the Minutes of the Sept. 30, 1991, Special Council Meeting. Seconded by Larry Fournier, all Council Members voted in favor of the motion. Kenneth Souer, of 9299 Kahler Ave on the South side of Co. 39, appeared before the Council to request a permit to move in a house. The house is now in Brooklyn Park, has been inspected by the Building Inspector and needs very little code adjustment. The house will replace the mobile home he now has on his 4+ acre lot. Semile Movers will be moving the house and it has to be off its present location by Oct 31. Dave Licht recommended a security deposit to guarantee the house will be moved in and brought up to code with 6 months or to guarantee that it will be removed if not brought up to code. Motion by Doug Lindenfelser to approve a permit for Kenneth Sauer to move in a house, contingent upon approval by the Planning Commission and meeting all codes; and a security deposit equal to the moving costs. Seconded by Floyd Roden, all Council Members voted in favor of the motion. Randy DeRosier was present from the Jaycees and said Wright Co would not allow them to put up a sign on Co. 39 advertising the Otsego Jaycees. He said they would have to look for another location for their sign. He said they were also interested in an adopt the river program to help clean up the Mississippi River. Norman Freske, said another group had inquired about this and he would let him know what the other group had decided. Mr. DeRosier said they were also interested in roadside cleanup projects. Jacquie Rognlie appeared before the Council to discuss the Otsego Newsletter which she has been editing and preparing. She advised the Council that she has been actually losing money at her pay schedule and requested an increase in pay. She is currently receiving $200.00 plus photo expenses per issue and requested a fee of $100.00 plus expenses per issue. Expenses would be her time, mileage and photo expenses. She said she would use recycled paper as long as it was cost effective. Ron Black commented that he was concerned about paying mileage. As the year was almost over, the Council advised her to keep track of all her expenses for the next issue and they would review her pay rate right after the 1st of the year. Norman Freske also suggested to Ms. Rognli that the CITY OF OTSEGO, CITY COUNCIL MEETING, OCTOBER 14, 1991 Page 3 Council should review the articles before the Newsletter is published. The Council requested her to submit all articles to the City Hall Office for review before printing. The Council also said they are considering a Mayor's Column and a Council Column for the Newsletter. Ms. Rognli asked the Council if they wanted to put out an extra year end issue of the Newsletter in December to list all the accomplishments of the City in the past year. The Council agreed this would a good idea as most people are not aware of all the Ordinances that have been enacted and other things the Council has done in the past year. Motion by Ron Black to publish an extra year end issue of the Newsletter in December to review all the accomplishments of the past year. Seconded by Doug Lindenfelser, all Council Members voted in favor of the motion. Dave Licht addressed the Council concerning the Urban and Rural taxing Districts. He said he had done a study of the services required for the 2 districts and found them to be fairly equal with Urban requiring about 53% and the Rural about 47%. Bill Radzwill said he had asked Malcolm Watson to compare property values in the 2 districts and he found little difference. Motion by Larry Fournier to have a Public Hearing on Urban and Rural taxing Districts on Nov. 25, 1991, at 7:00 PM. Seconded by Floyd Roden, all Council Members voted in favor of the motion. Motion by Ron Black to adopt an Ordinance dividing the area of the City of Otsego into Rural and Urban taxing Districts according to a ration of 53% Urban and 47% Rural using the map prepared by Dave Licht as a guide line. Seconded by Doug Lindenfelser, all Council Members voted in favor of the motion. Dave Licht presented the Council with a Finding of Facts he has prepared in response to Riverwood Conference Center's application to rezone their property into a Planned Unit Development District/Wild & Scenic River District with the Wild & Scenic River regulations to take precedent on that part of the property within the Wild & Scenic River District. In the Findings of Fact he has considered all the factors involved and is recommending to the Council that they approve the Planned Unit Development zoning for Riverwood Conference Center. The full text of the Finding of Facts is attached to these minutes. Jerome Perrault commented that he noted the access road to the former 11 acre parcel was included in the legal description of the Planned Unit Development and he questioned whether that should be included as it was the Council's intent that the Conference Center should not use this road. Dave Licht said the road was included because it was considered part of Riverwood property. Ron Black commented CITY OF OTSEGO COUNCIL MEETING OF OCTOBER 14, 1991 AT 7:30PM - Page 4 - that including the road in the Planned Unit Development would give the Council better control over it's use. Michelle Laverenz said that Riverwood still needs this road on a limited basis for fuel trucks and emergency vehicles. Motion by Floyd Roden to approve and adopt the Findings of Facts as prepared by Dave Licht and the re -zoning of Riverwood Conference Center to a Planned Unit Development/Wild and Scenic River District. Seconded by Ron Black, all Council Members voted in favor of the motion. Dave Licht said there are many items to be complied with before the contract between the City and Riverwood is signed including more justification that they need to disputed road access. Another item is restaurant capacity which was originally for 120 people and now they are asking for up to 180 on special occasions. The Council has approved restaurant capacity for 120 and parking for 120. Ron Black commented that in the application Riverwood submitted last March, they did say capacity for 180 on special occasions. Michelle Laverenz said the 180 capacity would only be needed on a few limited times. Dave Licht advised her that parking for 180 must be addressed in the contract. Ron Black commented that we should go with 120 capacity for now and take another look at it in a year. Regarding the disputed road, Ron Black said the Council should re --emphasize that it was not to be for commercial use. Elaine Beatty advised the Council that Riverwood has applied for an On -Sale Liquor License. The Council advised her to proceed with the paper fork and investigative work that needs to be done and they will consider the application after the Contract is signed. Bill Radzwill advised the Council that the appellants are appealing the Judge's decision in the Hall's Storm Drain assessment lawsuit. Larry Koshak advised the Council that evaluation of the site plan for an on-site septic%system should be done by an Engineer or a Certified Sewer Inspector. Group systems should be sited by an Engineer. Larry Koshak also advised the Council that a house is being built on Lot 1, Block 4, of Mississippi Parkwood with a walkout basement that is .38 of a foot below the 100 year flood plain. He has written a letter that addresses the problem with a recommended solution that he thought should be sent to the owner, builder, Darkenwalds and Wright Co Planning and Zoning. Motion by Larry Fournier that copies of the Engineer's letter be sent to the owner, builder Darkenwald's and Wright Co Planning and Zoning with a recommendation that all conditions addressed in the letter must be met before the house is occupied. Seconded by Ron Black, all Council CITY OF OTSEGO COUNCIL MEETING OF OCTOBER 14, 1991 AT 7:30PM - Page 5 - Members voted in favor of the motion. Larry Koshak said he also did a site inspection of Lot 26 in Island View as the builder had requested a wider driveway. He said he would not recommend a driveway wider than 22 feet wide. He also discovered that Lot 25 will have a drainage problem because of the filling done on Lot 26. He recommended getting a drainage easement for Lot 25 across Lot 26 to reach the Co 39 ditch. Motion by Ron Black to send a letter to the builder (Schluender Const) on Lot 26 requesting a drainage easement across Lot 26. Seconded by Larry Fournier, all Council Members voted in favor of the motion. Larry Koshak also addressed the erosion problem in James Addition, particularly on the West side of Packard Ave where erosion is filling the ditches. He recommended sending a letter to the residents requesting that they control the erosion on their lots. Motion by Doug Lindenfelser to send letters to the residents on the West side of Packard Ave. in James Addition requesting them to control erosion on their lots, and to send a copy of the letter to James Peterson. Seconded by Floyd Roden, all Council Members voted in favor of the motion. Larry Koshak submitted the Plans and Specifications for Nashua Ave from CO. 39 to 83rd St. and 85th St for 750 ft East from Nashua Ave. He said the Plans & Specs have to be submitted to the MnDOT Brainard Office for approval before the project can be bid. Motion by Floyd Roden to approve the Plans and Specifications for the construction of Nashua Ave. from Co. 39 to 83rd St. and 85th St for 750 ft East from Nashua Ave. Seconded by Doug Lindenfelser, all Council Members voted in favor of the motion. Larry advised the Council that Malcolm Watson is working on securing the easements for Nashua Ave. Larry Koshak also advised he has prepared a site map for the extension of Quale Ave (a service road for Hwy 101) from 65th St. to 70th St. Larry also told the Council about a Co-operative Purchasing Venture the Cities can become a member of. This co-op enables Cities to purchase equipment from the State at much reduced cost. This would enable the City to purchase computer hardware and software from the State for 40% of the States's cost. This hardware and software could be used to transmit MSA data between the Engineer and MnDot. He said he would keep the computer at his office and reimburse the City for the cost of it. Regarding Antelope Park, he said he had been asked to review the drainage plans but he can't as they are incomplete. The drainage plans were prepared by the surveyor and surveyors are not licensed to prepared drainage plans. The same thing applies to Riverwood Conference Center where CITY OF OTSEGO, CITY COUNCIL MEETING, OCTOBER 14, 1991 PAGE 6 the drainage plan should be done by an engineer. Motion by Doug Lindenfelser to raise the fee for Assessment Searches done by the City Office to $25.00. Seconded by Floyd Roden, all Council Members voted in favor of the motion. Motion by Larry Fournier not to pay Polka Dot Recycling any more invoices until a Certificate of Insurance for Workmens Compensation is furnished and the City is reimbursed for any expenses incurred because of their failure to provide the necessary Certificate of Insurance. Seconded by Ron Black, all Council Members voted in favor of the motion. Jerry Olson did not pass the Sewer Inspectors Test he took on October 10. He will not be able to repeat the test until January. Motion by Larry Fournier to hire Kevin Mealhouse as Building Inspector for one year commencing Oct. 15, 1991. Seconded by Floyd Roden. Larry Fournier and Floyd Roden voted in favor of the motion. Norman F Freske, Doug Lindenfelser, and Ron Black voted no. The motion did not pass. Motion by Doug Lindenfelser to hire Jerry Olson for one year commencing Oct. 15, 1991, contingent upon him passing the Sewer Inspection Test in January. The motion was seconded by Norman Freske. Norman Freske, Doug Lindenfelser, Larry Fournier and Ron Black voted in favor of the motion, Floyd Roden voted no, the motion passed. Floyd Roden advised the Council that the Park Board would have it's Comprehensive Plan prepared by March. They are using Comprehensive Plans of other Park Boards as a guideline when preparing the Plan. Jacquie Rognli commented that the Park Board needs direction from the Council as to what they should be attempting to accomplish. Motion by Ron Black to recommend to the Park Board that they meet on No. 19, 1991, at 8:00 PM instead of Nov. 12 so that the City Council may attend their meeting. Seconded by Larry Fournier, all Council Members voted in favor of the motion. Motion by Doug Lindenfelser to make Partial Payment No. 2 to Buffalo Bituminous, Inc. in the amount of $34,734.66 for the construction of Packard Ave. Seconded by Floyd Roden, all Council Members voted in favor of the motion. The Council agreed that Jerry Olson should provide a substitute Sewer Inspector until January. Proceeding as a board of audit the City Council audited and allowed verified accounts No. 810 to 881 inclusive. On motion the meeting adjourned. SEE NEW FILE CC 10-14-91 CONTINUED FROM 9-9-91 CC FILE CITY OF OTSEGO, CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF OCT 14, 1991 PAGE 7 ,NORMAN F FRESKE, MAYOR OUG LINDENFELSER,COUNCIL . "LOYD RODEN, COUNCIL ,LARRY FOURNIER, COUNCIL ,RON BLACK ATTEST: Jerome Perrault, Clerk Addendum: Those parcels of land meeting the Rural Services District criteria as set forth receive approximately 94% of the benefits resulting from tax supported municipal services as compared to.parcels of land of like value in the Urban Service District. That accordingly there should be a 6% reduction of tax. The approximate benefit ratio is hereby declared to be 9.4 to 10 between those parcels in the Urban District. Said benefit ratio does not apply on taxes levied for payments of bonded indebtedness interest or judgements thereon. JP/jeh