Loading...
10/08/2001 - 00009670THE MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL OF OCTOBER 8 , 2001 The Regular Meeting of the Fridley City Council was called to order by Mayor Lund at 7:35 p.m. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Mayor Lund led the Council and audience in the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. ROLL CALL: MEMBERS PRESENT: Mayor Lund, Councilmember Barnette, Councilmember Bolkcom, Councilmember Billings, Councilmember Wolfe. MEMBERS ABSENT: None. PROCLAMATION: Make a Difference Day - October 27, 2001 Mayor Lund stated that millions of self-sacrificing individuals have touched and enhanced the lives of millions by giving where there was a need, rebuilding what had been run down, teaching where there was a desire to learn, and inspiring others. RESOLUTION NO. 53-2001 OFFERING SYMPATHY AND SUPPORT IN RESPONSE TO THE TRAGIC EVENTS THAT OCCURRED ON SEPTEMBER 11, 2001: Mayor Lund stated that the destruction of the World Trade Center, the damage to the Pentagon and the airliner crash in Pennsylvania struck a blow at the foundations of our country and the world. The City of Fridley especially commends and thanks New York Mayor Rudolf Giuliani for his leadership and gallantry under heart-rending circumstances, thereby enabling all people throughout the world to begin the healing process. APPROVED RESOLUTION NO. 53 — 2001. APPROVAL OF PROPOSED CONSENT AGENDA: MOTION by Councilmember Bolkcom to approve the proposed consent agenda as presented. Seconded by Councilmember Wolfe. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF OCTOBER 8, 2001 PAGE 2 APPROVAL OF MINUTES: City Council Meeting of September 10, 2001. City Council Meeting of September 17, 2001 APPROVED. NEW BUSINESS: 1. RECEIVE THE PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES OF SEPTEMBER 19, 2001: RECEIVED. 2. PRELIMINARY PLAT REQUEST, PS #01-04, BY DALE ANDERSON AND PAUL HILBORN, TO DIVIDE PROPERTY BETWEEN TWO LOTS, GENERALLY LOCATED AT 1400 KERRY CIRCLE AND 6175 HEATHER PLACE N.E.: Mr. Burns, City Manager, stated that the petitioners are seeking to adjust what was originally perceived as the lot line between their properties. The proposed adjustment of the rear lot line that separates these two properties corrects the accidental encroachment of the retaining wall and brings it into compliance. The adjustment can be made without violating any City Code ordinance. Staff recommended Council's approval with one stipulation. APPROVED PLAT REQUEST, PS #01-04, BY DALE ANDERSON AND PAUL HILBORN, WITH THE FOLLOWING STIPULATION: 1. PETITIONER SHALL PROVIDE ALL EASEMENTS AS SHOWN ON THE PRELIMINARY PLAT DRAWING. 3. SCHEDULE A PUBLIC HEARING FOR OCTOBER 22, 2001, FOR THE LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT BLOCK GRANT: Mr. Burns, City Manager, stated that Fridley has been elected to receive funds in the amount of $23,313.00 from the Local Law Enforcement Block Grant Program. The funds will be allocated for a Youth Worker for the Fridley High School. Staff recommended Council's approval. SCHEDULED A PUBLIC HEARING FOR OCTOBER 22, 2001. 4. APPOINTMENT - CITY EMPLOYEE: Mr. Burns, City Manager, stated staff recommended approval of the appointment of Cynthia Bobick to the position of Lead Liquor Store Clerk Ms. Bobick would be FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF OCTOBER 8, 2001 PAGE 3 replacing Carolyn Dreyer who has retired. Ms. Bobick worked as General Manager of Sharx's Sports Bar for five years. APPOINTED CYNTHIA BOBICK TO THE POSITION OF LEAD LIQUOR STORE CLERK. 5. CLAIMS: APPROVED PAYMENT OF CLAIM NOS. 101668 - 101960. 6. LICENSES: APPROVED ALL LICENSES AS SUBMITTED. 7. ESTIMATE: Dave Perkins Contracting, Inc. 14230 Basalt Street N.W. Ramsey, MN 55303 2001 Street Improvement Project No. ST. 2001 - 1 Estimate No. 6 $174,007.22 ADOPTION OF AGENDA: MOTION by Councilmember Bolkcom to adopt the Agenda as presented. Seconded by Councilmember Barnette. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. OPEN FORUM, VISITORS: No persons in the audience spoke. NEW BUSINESS: 8. FIRST READING OF AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 213 OF THE FRIDLEY CITY CODE PERTAINING TO ALLOWING BARBED WIRE FENCING IN CERTAIN ZONING DISTRICTS: Mr. Hickok, Community Development Director, stated that this went to the Planning Commission and received unanimous recommendation for approval. United Defense had concerns regarding the barbed wire fence. Chapter 214 of the City Code allows exceptions to the prohibition of barbed wire for certain instances. Council had concerns with having an 8-foot FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF OCTOBER 8, 2001 PAGE 4 minimum fence and the Planning Commission concurred. Staff incorporated each of the points made by United Defense into the revised ordinance. Councilmember Billings asked if the stipulations that United Defense recommended could be more broadly revised as during the event of a national emergency when other industries may have cause to use barbed wire. Number 4 on Page 18 of the agenda states that: "With City approval during times of national emergency, industries may be authorized additional usage of barbed wire to include temporary barriers made of barbed wire and barbed wire used to top temporary security fences." Council would need to have an emergency meeting to act on this but they recognize that in times of national emergency, United Defense would quite likely be using additional barbed wire. This allows a broader opportunity for other industries with the same types of concerns. Councilmember Billings stated that sometime in the future, there may be some other type of standard for barbed wire other than on top of a fence. He has noticed that staff has not addressed the issue that it is on top of the fence rather than in addition to the fence. Mr. Hickok stated that they felt that the language addresses the 8-foot height plus the barbed wire arms. Barbed wire is uniformly about 15 rather than 18 inches high on top of an 8-foot high fence. Any additional language Council recommends, however, is acceptable. Councilmember Billings stated that ordinances need to be for now and in the future. He would have been more comfortable if it indicated that the barbed wire needed to be above 8 feet rather than below 8 feet. He does not want a future misinterpretation of the ordinance. Mr. Hickok asked Councilmember Billings if it would solve the dilemma if it was worded: "In addition to an eight (8) foot fence, up to three (3) strands of barbed wire may be affixed to the top of an eight foot fence, which is not to exceed 18 inches in height." Councilmember Billings stated that it sounded close to what he wanted. Mayor Lund asked if there were any hardships from having this worded the way it is right now. Mr. Hickok stated that it was standard to have an eight-foot fence with barbed wire on top. Mayor Lund asked if a variance process would be necessary if something was requested outside of the proposed ordinance. Mr. Hickok stated that it would be necessary. MOTION by Councilmember Bolkcom to waive the reading and approve the ordinance on first reading with the added language as recommended by Councilmember Billings. Seconded by Councilmember Wolfe. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF OCTOBER 8, 2001 PAGE 5 9. RESOLUTION APPROVING THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN FOR THE CITY OF FRIDLEY AND AUTHORIZING STAFF TO DISTRIBUTE TO THE METROPOLITAN COUNCIL: Mr. Hickok stated that staff recommended approval of the resolution for the 2020 Comprehensive Plan and authorization to distribute the plan to local jurisdictions including the County of Anoka, the Anoka County Library, adjacent cities and staff inembers. The plan process started in 1997. The City was divided into seven planning districts with planning meetings to start the process. Good input was received from neighbors and residents. In 1998 visioning meetings were held for folks to talk about the plan, and give advice as to how the plan should be worded and how to develop certain elements. Staff took those comments to the Planning Commission and City Council through the statutory process to a point where a draft copy of the document was submitted to the Metropolitan Council. The Metropolitan Council reviewed the document and made minor changes. The draft copy was sent back to the City for final modifications. The Metropolitan Council has standard language for resolutions for comprehensive plans. Standard language is that the City put the Comprehensive Plan into effect with no plan modifications, which may seem contrary to their request to remove references to Northtown LRT. If there is concern of Council, this plan is made in such a way that modifications can be made before it is distributed. The stipulations and references for the sewer chapter are outlined in staff's memorandum. When they talk about us not doing any sewer expansions or reconstruction, they are talking about resubmitting our sewer chapter as our Tier II Plan which will satisfy the guidelines. He said that if it is Council's wish to approve the plan, staff will bring back the sewer chapter with a different resolution and cover memorandum asking that to be approved as the Tier II Plan. Councilmember Billings stated that he did not get a chance to review it. He asked if action needed to be taken this evening. Mr. Hickok stated that before the ne�t sewer improvement for Stage 2 of the Medtronic Project is installed, a Tier II Plan needs to be in place. That can be done quickly once the plan has been approved. We are not anticipating that improvement would be this year, so there still is some time. MOTION by Councilmember Bolkcom to table the resolution approving the Comprehensive Plan for the City of Fridley and authorizing staff to distribute to the Metropolitan Council. Seconded by Councilmember Barnette. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 10. RESOLUTION NO. ESTABLISHING A DECONSTRUCTION POLICY FOR THE CITY OF FRIDLEY: Ms. Jones stated that deconstruction is when buildings are systematically dismantled for the purpose of building materials for reuse. This involves salvaging windows, flooring, timbers, light fi�tures, furnaces, hardware, cabinets, installation, and more. This resolution was FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF OCTOBER 8, 2001 PAGE 6 developed through the Fridley Environmental Quality and Energy Commission, which began discussing this in April of 2000. The Commission gathered information for about a year before developing into policy. The Commission had speakers come in, researched similar deconstruction firms, and worked with the Fridley Housing and Redevelopment Authority to do a pilot test run on a home on East River Road. Based on that information, they developed a deconstruction policy and forwarded it to the HRA for feedback to see how they felt about this being used in their Scattered Site Redevelopment Program. The Planning Commission also reviewed it. After the HRA meeting, they decided to forward this on to the City Council. Staff converted the policy into a form of a resolution for review. If the resolution is approved, the City and the HRA would no longer automatically hire demolition companies to redevelop. Staff would analyze the option of deconstruction for each project. If safety and cost concerns were too great, then demolition would be used. Staff feels that the added cost of deconstruction would balance the cost of the materials that could be salvaged. Staff believes this is an environmental practice good for the City to look into. The resolution does provide for the City to provide information to the public about salvage options for building materials. Councilmember Barnette asked how much a deconstruction company would typically get out of a$100,000 house. Is it worth their time? Ms. Jones stated that the home on East River Road had over a two page list of items that were salvaged including a furnace, washing machine, doors, windows, furniture, insulation, maple flooring, among other things. She does not have the dollar value of those materials. Councilmember Barnette asked if the deconstruction company guarantees a certain dollar amount. Ms. Jones stated that this was for a set dollar amount the City paid them, which was $60.00. They got to salvage whatever materials they wanted and there was no dollar amount placed on it at all. Councilmember Barnette stated that he did not know if this was a really big item. Councilmember Wolfe stated that sometimes there may be really valuable items to be salvaged like copper, maple floors, furnaces, and it is amazing what could be there. Mayor Lund stated that he does not see a down side to this. Councilmember Bolkcom asked if we incur additional cost by the person we hire to tear down the property. Ms. Jones stated that was not our experience, we did not see an increase in the cost. Mayor Lund stated that he does not perceive that this will be widespread, but it is a good recycling option rather than sending everything to the landfills. Councilmember Bolkcom asked if this method would delay any projects. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF OCTOBER 8, 2001 PAGE 7 Ms. Jones stated that it can delay the project, but it should not be a significant delay. There is some coordination of Staff to schedule the deconstruction and demolition companies. A deconstruction job is typically three days maximum. Mr. Burns asked about people who would like to donate their own materials to be re-used by someone else. Ms. Jones stated that the City has information available about salvage opportunities and the one agency, called the Re-Use Center, sells the materials at their store. MOTION by Councilmember Barnette to approve the Resolution Establishing a Deconstruction Policy for the City of Fridley. Seconded by Councilmember Wolfe. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 1 L INFORMAL STATUS REPORTS: Mr. Burns stated that after the Council meeting, he would like to have an informal discussion with Council regarding the contract for services for the Highway 65 project. Councilmember Bolkcom stated that she would like to talk about the University Avenue fence issue again and the winter sand cost. She thanked everyone who participated in the open house last weekend at the Fire Station. After the tragedy that happened in Hutchinson, she hopes that everyone has a working smoke detector in their homes. Mayor Lund stated that he asked the Minnegasco representative about rising gas costs projected for this winter. He was assured that the gas cost would be down this year and they have adequate reserves. ADJOURN: MOTION by Councilmember Barnette to adjourn the meeting. Seconded by Councilmember Wolfe. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE OCTOBER 8, 2001, CITY COUNCIL MEETING ADJOURNED AT 8:20 P.M. Respectfully submitted, Signe L. Johnson Scott Lund Recording Secretary Mayor