CCM 01/28/2013
CITY COUNCIL MEETING
CITY OF FRIDLEY
JANUARY 28, 2013
The City Council meeting for the City of Fridley was called to order by Mayor Lund at 7:35 p.m.
ROLL CALL:
MEMBERS PRESENT:
Mayor Lund
Councilmember-at-Large Barnette
Councilmember Saefke
Councilmember Varichak
Councilmember Bolkcom
OTHERS PRESENT:
Darin Nelson, Interim City Manager
Jim Kosluchar, Public Works Director
Scott Hickok Community Development Director
Darcy Erickson, City Attorney
APPROVAL OF PROPOSED CONSENT AGENDA:
APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
City Council Minutes of January 7, 2013
Councilmember Varichak
asked for a correction on page 19, number 17, first paragraph should
read BAE instead of DAE.
APPROVED AS AMENDED.
NEW BUSINESS:
1.Resolution Regarding the Administration of the Minnesota Wetland Conservation Act
in the City of Fridley within the Coon Creek Watershed District.
Darin Nelson,
Interim City Manager, stated the Minnesota Wetland Conservation Act (WCA)
requires local governmental units (LGU) to implement rules and regulations promulgated by the
Board of Water and Soil Resources. Fridley served as the LGU within the former Six Cities
WMO. Six Cities WMO has since dissolved, with the areas to the north becoming part of
CCWD and the areas to the south becoming part of the MWMO. CCWD already serves as the
LGU implementing the WCA for several cities under its jurisdiction. Staff recommends is
recommending Council adopt the resolution establishing CCWD as the LGU for the
implementation of the Wetland Conservation Act in areas of Fridley that are within the CCWD.
ADOPTED RESOLUTION NO. 2013-07.
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FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF JANUARY 28, 2013 PAGE 2
2.Resolution in Supporting of an Application for a Minnesota Lawful Gambling Premises
Permit for Spring Lake Park Lions at Shorewood Restaurant Located at 6161 Central
Avenue N.E. (Ward 2)
Darin Nelson,
Interim City Manager, stated this resolution is in support of an application for a
Minnesota Lawful Gambling Premises Permit for the Spring Lake Park Lions at the Shorewood
Restaurant located at 6161 Central Avenue. An updated memo and resolution have been
provided to the Council. The original memo and resolution made reference to the Spring Lake
Park Youth Hockey Association. That was a typo. The Spring Lake Park Lions are applying for
a permit.
Mr. Nelson
stated Minnesota state law requires a gambling organization applying for a State
Premises Permit to contact the city in which it will be conducting lawful gambling to provide a
resolution in support of their application. The Fridley Lions had been conducting lawful
gambling at the Shorewood Restaurant until their lease was cancelled in November. Changes to
the City Code require the establishment to work with a City organization and should no
organization be available, the establishment may choose another organization. The Shorewood
did have discussions with the American Legion. Both parties, however, decided it was not a
good fit.
Mr. Nelson
stated the Shorewood has chosen to work the SLP Lions to conduct lawful
gambling. Staff verified the SLP Lions have no outstanding issues with the Minnesota Gambling
Control Board, and the Police Department conducted background checks on the SLP Lions and
their officials and found no adverse police contacts. Staff recommends Council’s approval.
ADOPTED RESOLUTION NO. 2013-08.
3.Approve 2013 Pay Equity Report.
Darin Nelson,
Interim City Manager, said this is commonly referred to as “Pay Equity” or
“Comparable Worth.” The Local Government Pay Equity Act requires local governments to
establish equitable compensation relations to eliminate sex-based wage disparities in public
employment. Local governments are responsible for complying with the law at all times and
must report their data every three years. The City of Fridley is required to report the 2012 data
by January 31, 2013. Test results indicate the City is well within the required compliance
ranges. Staff recommends Council’s approval.
APPROVED.
4.Appointment – City Employees.
Darin Nelson,
Interim City Manager, stated staff recommends the appointment of Don Roberts
to the position of Engineering Technician II effective February 12, 2013. Mr. Roberts is
currently working as a Sr. Transportation Generalist for MnDOT where he has been a chief
inspector since 2009. Prior to MNDOT, Mr. Roberts worked for the City of South St. Paul for
11 years. Mr. Roberts is filling the position vacated by Daniel Belair in August of last year.
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FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF JANUARY 28, 2013 PAGE 3
Mr. Nelson
stated staff is also recommending the appointment of Claudia M. Diggs to the
position of Fire Inspections Office Assistant effective February 28, 2013. Ms. Diggs is
experienced in the area of fire inspections and administrative support and previously worked for
the City of Maple Grove as a Fire Inspections Office Assistant for five years. At Maple Grove,
she provided administrative support to inspections staff in working with property owners, issuing
permits and corrections orders, and assisting with code enforcement projects. Ms. Diggs is
currently working for the Shiloh Village School District in Shiloh, Illinois, as an administrative
assistant and plans to relocate back to Minnesota.
APPOINTED DON ROBERTS AS ENGINEERING TECHNICIAN, II; AND CLAUDIA
DIGGS AS FIRE INSPECTIONS OFFICE ASSISTANT.
5.Claims (157926 – 158309).
APPROVED.
6.Licenses.
APPROVED THE LICENSES AS SUBMITTED AND AS ON FILE.
7.Estimates:
Lametti and Sons
16028 Forest Blvd. N.
Hugo, MN 55038
2012 Sanitary Sewer Lining
Project No. 416
Estimate No. 3……………………………..$25,716.15
APPROVED.
APPROVAL OF CONSENT AGENDA:
MOTION
by Councilmember Bolkcom to move into record the corrected version of the
resolution for Item No. 2. Seconded by Councilmember Barnette.
UPON VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION
CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
Councilmember Bolkcom
asked why staff was waiting until January 31 to submit the pay
equity.
Mr. Nelson
replied that Ms. Dahl will probably submit it earlier than that date.
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FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF JANUARY 28, 2013 PAGE 4
MOTION
by Councilmember Barnette to approve the Consent Agenda as submitted. Seconded
by Councilmember Varichak.
UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
ADOPTION OF AGENDA:
MOTION
by Councilmember Bolkcom to adopt the Agenda as submitted. Seconded by
Councilmember Saefke.
UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
OPEN FORUM VISITORS:
Councilmember Bolkcom
asked for an update regarding the parking at Wal-Mart.
Jim Kosluchar
, Public Works Director, replied that a speed restriction sign has been put up and
no parking signs have been placed on both sides of the street by the east entrance to Wal-Mart.
Councilmember Bolkcom
said that a lot of cars were parked in the “no parking” area yesterday.
Mr. Kosluchar
said warning tickets were being issued. Now the area will be enforced with
parking tickets.
Scott Hickok,
Community Development Director, presented the “eQuality – Pathways to
Potential” video for Council.
OLD BUSINESS:
8.Second Reading of an Ordinance Amending Chapter 205, Section 205.03, Defining
“Crematory,” “Mortuary,” and “Retort,” and Section 205.15, Allowing “A Crematory
in Conjunction with a Mortuary” as an Accessory Use in the C-3, General Shopping
Zoning District.
Scott Hickok,
Community Development Director, stated that public hearing was in December
and the first reading on January 7. The petitioner is seeking a text amendment to add language to
the C-3, General Shopping zoning district that would allow a crematory as an accessory to the
mortuary use at the subject property, which is located at 6210 Hwy 65. The text amendment
includes adding the definitions of Crematory, Mortuary and Retort. Conditions placed on
accessory use include:
Crematory must be licensed annually by the State of Minnesota Department of Health.
Crematory must be inspected annually by the State of Minnesota Department of Health.
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FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF JANUARY 28, 2013 PAGE 5
Emissions from the operation of the retort must meet State of Minnesota Pollution
Control Agency standards.
The retort must be properly maintained and serviced by the manufacturer at minimum
every 18 months.
Mortuary will employ a fully trained, Certified Cremation Technician, capable of
overseeing the operation and maintenance of the crematory and retort equipment.
Mortuary will make copies of State licensure renewals and annual inspection reports
available to the City Building Inspector upon request.
Mr. Hickok
stated staff has determined these conditions are necessary for the proposed
accessory use to be compatible with the purpose and intent of the commercial zoning ordinance.
Staff has provided Council with a list of licensed crematories within the metro and state. Staff
has contacted the Minnesota Department of Health which is in charge of licensing crematories.
There are 54 Crematories licensed in Minnesota. The Minnesota Department of Heath licenses
the crematory annually and checks for things such as tracking of the human remains, whether
required permits have been received, safety, and visuals of the retort and stack.
Mr. Hickok
stated the Planning Commission held a public hearing for TA #12-02 at its meeting
on November 21, 2012. No members of the public attended the hearing to speak on this issue.
The Planning Commission recommended approval of TA #12-02, with no stipulations. The
motion carried unanimously. Staff recommends Council hold the second and final reading of the
ordinance to approve TA #12-02.
Councilmember Varichak
said she researched this after the meeting on December 10 and met
with Shannon. She called crematoriums and most funeral homes gave the same information.
There is no odor, no smoke, but some heat and steam depending on the weather conditions. The
funeral homes did not have any problems with any of the retorts they installed. Inspections are
done annually and their population was relevant to Fridley. She also looked on the internet and
found a lot more information, both negative and positive. There are some concerns with mercury
levels and why the EPA does not do more research on the retorts. The funeral homes do have to
meet other standards with the state. She also spoke with neighbors who wrote letters and they
have no concerns. There will be watchful eyes from the surrounding neighbors within that area.
After all the research, she is comfortable with this and will vote yes tonight.
CouncilmemberBolkcom
asked staff to review the inspections again.
Mr. Hickok
stated that the inspections are done every 18 months according to the stipulations.
The funeral home will make records available to the city as soon as the state has completed the
inspections. The Minnesota Department of Health will perform annual inspections.
CouncilmemberBolkcom
said she had a conversation with the Pollution Control Agency.
What she found out is there is currently no way to measure how much mercury is being emitted
into the air. They know there are emissions going into the air but have no way to measure it.
The funeral director can remove the teeth too. There will be a spike from the baby boomers
because they had the fillings with mercury but as this population goes away there will be less.
Right now they are concentrating on the big energy producing plants with coal and mercury
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FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF JANUARY 28, 2013 PAGE 6
going into the air. Retorts are on their radar screen and they will work close with the EPA, the
Minnesota Department of Health and the Funeral Home Association. There is also a new
cremation technique coming in the future called chemical cremation. If people have questions
they may call the Minnesota Department of Health or the Pollution Control Agency. They are a
great resource.
CouncilmemberSaefke
asked if the emissions are not able to be measured or if the testing is
unreliable.
CouncilmemberBolkcom
replied that the MPCA said there is currently not a device to measure
the levels.
CouncilmemberSaefke
stated if the Federal EPA guidelines or technology is available in the
future to measure and it becomes an issue, there may be a requirement to remediate. He asked if
Miller Funeral Home would remediate on the retort if directed by the Federal Government.
Shannon Asnus,
Miller Funeral Home, replied if the law changed, they would comply with the
laws.
Mayor Lund
said that vaporized mercury is not good for anyone. The question is why mercury
fillings are in people’s mouths in the first place. Many people have old fillings and are still alive.
He asked how detrimental it could be.
CouncilmemberBolkcom
said she did not know how much mercury is still emitting once in the
mouth. Dental work with mercury has to be disposed of in a certain way.
Councilmember Varichak
said the emissions come from the mercury when it is heated and a
gas is created.
CouncilmemberBarnette
said he read the report about the Jordan crematory and that answered
all of his questions. Mercury exposure has been out there for all sorts of things for many years.
Mr. Asnus
asked if they could submit a building permit application tomorrow.
Mr. Hickok
replied yes.
MOTION
by Councilmember Varichak to waive the reading of the ordinance and adopt
Ordinance No. 1300 on second reading and order publication. Seconded by Councilmember
Saefke.
UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
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FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF JANUARY 28, 2013 PAGE 7
NEW BUSINESS:
9.First Reading of an Ordinance Amending Chapter 205 of the Fridley City Code
Pertaining to Home Occupations (Text Amendment, TA #12-03, by the City of Fridley).
Scott Hickok,
Community Development Director, reviewed the text modification stating that the
garage sale reference changes to: “No more than three garage sales of no more than three
consecutive days per sales event may be conducted on a property in a 12-month period.” A
public hearing was held at the December 19 Planning Commission meeting and City Council
held a public hearing on January 7. No one appeared from the public to speak at either hearing.
The Planning Commission unanimously recommended approval and staff concurs with the
Planning Commission’s recommendation. Staff recommends proceeding to the second reading
of the ordinance on February 11.
CouncilmemberBolkcom
asked on page 62, under (4) Home Occupations, (o)(3), if 10 vehicles
per day meant that a pick-up and drop-off was considered one vehicle.
Mr. Hickok
replied yes.
CouncilmemberBolkcom
thought the number of pick-ups in item (o)(4) seemed a little
restrictive. She asked how staff arrived at that number.
Mr. Hickok
replied this relates to controlling the appearance of a business and changing the
character of a neighborhood. People can schedule regular pick-up/drop-off times three times a
week. The goal is to not have the business to look like a business. This has nothing to do with
controlling the volume of business that is done, but to control pick-up and deliveries so there are
no more than three per week.
CouncilmemberBolkcom
asked how this would be monitored.
Mr. Hickok
said that staff is good at code enforcement but more likely it will be a situation
where someone calls in. Shipments are harder to control but the idea is to mimic business
operation to make it feel like a neighborhood and not a business.
CouncilmemberBolkcom
asked if the number could be taken out or if it were more enforceable
with numbers.
Mr. Hickok
said saying that 7 took place and only 3 are allowed works much better.
CouncilmemberBarnette
asked on page 62, (o)(1), where it talks about working on vehicles
out of a garage, was that a problem.
Mr. Hickok
answered no but those are the most difficult code enforcement cases; repair in the
garage. If someone set up a paint booth in a garage to do body work, that would be an issue
because home occupations cannot take place in a garage.
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FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF JANUARY 28, 2013 PAGE 8
MOTION
by Councilmember Saefke to waive the reading of the ordinance and adopt the
ordinance on first reading. Seconded by Councilmember Bolkcom.
UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
10.First Reading of an Ordinance Amending Chapter 205.30, 0-5, of the Fridley Zoning
Code Pertaining to Clarifying Approved Locations for Telecommunications Towers
and Facilities and Adoption of a Map of Approved Tower Sites as Part of the
Appendix A to Chapter 205.30 (Text Amendment, TA #12-04, by the City of Fridley).
Scott Hickok,
Community Development Director, stated that Appendix A of Chapter 205.30
lists 15 approved sties by location name. Staff desires to have a more detailed list with addresses
and PIN numbers and a map. Text changes since the public hearing include “Existing Site”
further defined, re-instated “Non-Conforming Use” section, and simplified “Illumination”
requirements to only refer to FAA requirements. The language on signs remains unchanged as
no additional rules were listed in the code of Federal Regulations.
CouncilmemberBolkcom
asked on page 70, Section 205.30.3(C), why 12 months was chosen.
Mr. Hickok
replied it is an administrative thing to catch up on billing and payments. After 12
months, it falls into serious abatement proceedings. Equipment goes up for one vendor and may
be owned by another vendor. Sometimes there is a misunderstanding of payments. Staff does
get caught up and does collect the payments.
Jim Kosluchar
, Public Works Director, said that if they are behind over one payment period
staff is in contact with them. A late payment, according to the lease terms, means that there is a
default clause that staff can exercise. Staff does not wait a year to collect on the lease.
MOTION
by Councilmember Saefke to waive the reading of the ordinance and adopt the
ordinance on first reading. Seconded by Councilmember Varichak.
UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
11.First Reading of an Ordinance Amending Chapter 11 of the Fridley City Code
Pertaining to Telecommunications Fees (Text Amendment, TA #12-05, by the City of
Fridley)
Scott Hickok,
Community Development Director, stated no changes in the proposed ordinance
have been made since Council’s January 7 public hearing. No rate change is being made in this
text amendment, only inclusion of fees that staff has been charging since 1998, which were never
added to Chapter 11. The Planning Commission held a public hearing on December 19 and
unanimously recommended approval. Staff concurs with the Planning Commission. Staff
recommends scheduling a second reading for February 11.
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FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF JANUARY 28, 2013 PAGE 9
MOTION
by Councilmember Saefke to waive the reading of the ordinance and adopt the
ordinance on first reading. Seconded by Councilmember Bolkcom.
UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
12.Informal Status Report.
Councilmember Varichak
said she attended Winter Fest on Saturday and thought it was a nice
event.
CouncilmemberBolkcom
thanked staff and volunteers who helped with this event.
Mayor Lund
said he attended the Lions waffle breakfast and it was a successful event.
Councilmember Varichak
announced that Steel Magnolias will be performed at the Fridley
Community Center on February 7, 8, 9, 16 and 17. The cost is $25 for dinner and the play.
Darin Nelson
, Interim City Manager, announced that on Wednesday, January 30, the EPA will
be offering informational sessions from 1 to 3 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. at the Fridley Community
Center. They will discuss the community action plans related to the Fridley superfund sites.
Also the Fridley newsletter should be received by residents tomorrow.
ADJOURN:
MOTION
by Councilmember Barnette to adjourn. Seconded by Councilmember Varichak.
UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY AND THE MEETING ADJOURNED AT 8:45
P.M.
Respectfully Submitted,
Krista Peterson Scott J. Lund
Recording Secretary Mayor