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02/23/2004 - 00026483CITY OF FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES FEBRUARY 23, 2004 The regular meeting of the Fridley City Council was called to order by Mayor Lund at 7:30 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 Billings, Councilmember Wolfe and Councilmember Bolkcom. MEMBERS ABSENT: None. PROCLAMATION: School Board Recognition Week. February 23-27, 2004 Mayor Lund read and presented a proclamation for School Board Recognition Week, February 23 through 27, 2004, to Kim Sampson from the Independent School District No. 14 School Board. He thanked the School Board for their dedication and service to the community and students. Ms. Sampson thanked the Council for the proclamation. APPROVAL OF PROPOSED CONSENT AGENDA: APPROVAL OF MINUTES: City Council Meeting of January 26, 2004. APPROVED. OLD BUSINESS: 1. ORDINANCE NO. 1186 AMENDING FRIDLEY CODE, CHAPTER 3, PERSONNEL, RELATED TO SEVERANCE PAY. Dr. William Burns, City Manager, said the ordinance related to severance pay for employees hired before 1978. The amendment to Chapter 3 of the City Code made it clear that the benefit applied to full-time employees who were hired before September 1, 1978. Staff recommended Council's approval. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF FEBRUARY 23, 2004 PAGE 2 WAIVED THE READING AND ADOPTED ORDINANCE NO. 1186 ON SECOND READING AND ORDERED PUBLICATION. 2. ORDINANCE NO. 1187 AMENDING CHAPTER 107, FIRE DEPARTMENT, OF THE FRIDLEY CITY CODE PERTAINING TO DEPARTMENT OFFICERS. Dr. William Burns, City Manager, said the amendments eliminated references to the Deputy Fire Chief and replaced them with references to the Assistant Fire Chief. They also proposed new references to the Fire Marshal. Staff recommended Council's approval. WAIVED THE READING AND ADOPTED ORDINANCE NO. 1187 ON SECOND READING AND ORDERED PUBLICATION. 3. ORDINANCE NO. 1188 REPEALING CHAPTER 108, FIRE PREVENTION, AND ADOPTING A NEW CHAPTER 108, FIRE PREVENTION, OF THE FRIDLEY CITY CODE PROVIDING FOR THE ADOPTION OF THE MINNESOTA STATE FIRE CODE. Dr. William Burns, City Manager, said the amendments adopted the 2003 State Fire Code. They also included new language that regulated the following: negligent burning, removal or tampering with equipment, fires or barbeques on balconies or patios of apartment buildings and fire apparatus access road. Staff recommended Council's approval. WAIVED THE READING AND ADOPTED ORDINANCE NO. 1188 ON SECOND READING AND ORDERED PUBLICATION. 4. ORDINANCE NO. 1189 ESTABLISHING A NEW CHAPTER OF THE FRIDLEY CODE PERTAINING TO CLANDESTINE DRUG LAB AND CHAMICAL DUMP SITES. Dr. William Burns, City Manager, said the ordinance was requested by the Anoka County Department of Health. It did the following with regard to meth labs and chemical dump sites: provided definitions, established notification requirements of the City and the property owner, identified other responsibilities of the property owner, established property owner responsibilities for costs, provided for recovery of City costs, and established an appeal process whereby Council had authority to hear appeals from property owners. Staff recommended Council's approval. WAIVED THE READING AND ADOPTED ORDINANCE NO. 1189 ON SECOND READING AND ORDERED PUBLICATION. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF FEBRUARY 23, 2004 PAGE 3 5. SECOND READING OF AN ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING A NEW CHAPTER OF THE FRIDLEY CITY CODE SETTING SERVICE CHARGES FOR EMERGENCY RESPONSE CALLS. Dr. William Burns, City Manager, said the ordinance was new and incorporated new fees in combination with existing fees. It was based on State-enabling legislation approved in the last legislative session. The new fees were as follows: $400 fee for vehicle accidents, $400 fee for vehicle fires; hourly rate for contractor disruption of underground utilities, and an hourly rate for a fire caused by arson or negligence. Staff recommended Council's approval. THIS ORDINANCE WAS REMOVED FROM THE CONSENT AGENDA AND PLACED ON THE REGULAR AGENDA. NEW BUSINESS: 6. FIRST READING OF AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE FRIDLEY CITY CODE, CHAPTER 11, FEES. Dr. William Burns, City Manager, said staff conducted a fee study last year as part of the process for preparing for the 2004 budget. The object of the study was to identify fees that needed to be upgraded to reflect the costs of City services and fees that were no longer justifiable. Staff estimated that these changes will generate an additional $98,894 per year. Staff recommended Council's approval. THIS ITEM WAS REMOVED FROM THE CONSENT AGENDA AND PLACED ON THE REGULAR AGENDA. 7. FIRST READING OF AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE FRIDLEY CITY CODE, CHAPTER 206, BUILDING CODE, ADOPTING THE 2001 STATE BUILDING CODE. Dr. William Burns, City Manager, said the State Code was based on the International Building Code and the National Electrical Code. While it was mandatory that Council adopt the State Code, they did have the discretion to accept, adjust or deny the fee schedule staff recommended. The fee recommendations reinstated fees for residential plan review. Up to 65% of the value of the permit fee may be charged for this purpose. Fees written into this document were based on the fee study that was conducted last year. In addition to fee discretion, the State Code also gave Council the ability to decide the level of the requirement for sprinkler systems. Staff recommended Council's approval. THIS ITEM WAS REMOVED FROM THE CONSENT AGENDA AND PLACED ON THE REGULAR AGENDA. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF FEBRUARY 23, 2004 PAGE 4 8. RESOLUTION NO. 2004-15 PROVIDING FOR THE ISSUANCE AND SALE OF $1,790,000 GENERAL OBLIGATION WATER REVENUE BONDS, SERIES 2004A, AND PLEDGING FOR THE SECURITY THEREOF NEW REVENUES. Dr. William Burns, City Manager, said staff requested the issuance of the bonds to fund the following water system projects: replacement of the Marion Hills water tower, refurbishing of the Commons park water treatment plant, repair the Commons Park water tower and for water main lining. Moody's Investor Service indicated that we will be able to maintain our Aal bond rating for this issue. Based on the recommendations of bond counsel, staff recommended that the issue be sold to Cronin & Co., Inc., at a rate of 3.6522% over 15 years. Staff recommended Council's approval. ADOPTED RESOLUTION NO. 2004-15. 9. RESOLUTION NO. 2004-16 PROVIDING FOR THE ISSUANCE AND SALE OF $3,920,000 TAXABLE GENERAL OBLIGATION TAX INCREMENT REFUNDING BONDS, SERIES 2004B, PLEDGING FOR THE SECURITY THEREOF TAX INCREMENTS AND AUTHORIZING EXECUTION OF A TAX INCREMENT PLEDGE AGREEMENT. Dr. William Burns, City Manager, said staff recommended the sale of $3,920,000 in refunding bonds to replace a$4,185,000 tax increment bond issue that was sold in 1988 to fund the purchase of the Lake Pointe site. The refinancing of this bond issue will save the Housing and Redevelopment Authority and the City costs, having a present value savings of $310,542. The lowest and best bid was received from Piper Jaffray & Co. at a 3.754% interest rate over 8 years. Staff recommended Council's approval. ADOPTED RESOLUTION NO. 2004-16. 10. RESOLUTION NO. 2004-17 ACCEPTING PROPOSAL ON THE COMPETITIVE NEGOTIATED SALE OF $1,225,000 GENERAL OBLIGATION REFUNDING BONDS, SERIES 2004C; PLEDGING FOR THE SECURITY THEREOF WATER AND STORM SEWER SYSTEM NET REVENUES AND THE LEVY OF TAXES. Dr. William Burns, City Manager, said it replaced a$2,935,000 issue that was sold in 1996. The savings from the refunding was estimated to have a present value of $75,715. The lowest bid was received from Hutchinson, Shockey, Erley & Co. at a 2.473% interest rate over 7 years. Staff recommended Council's approval. ADOPTED RESOLUTION NO. 2004-17. 11. RESOLUTION NO. 2004-18 AUTHORIZING CHANGES IN APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE 2003 BUDGET FOR NOVEMBER THROUGH DECEMBER, 2003. Dr. William Burns, City Manager, said the changes covered the months of November and December. The General Fund portion of the changes was a result of donations, grants or FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF FEBRUARY 23, 2004 PAGE 5 other e�ternal funding. The amount for the General Fund was $47,900. All but $200 of this amount was for the Police Department. Staff also recommended the use of $147,271 from fund balance to cover change orders for the Municipal Garage remodeling project. Staff recommended Council's approval. ADOPTED RESOLUTION NO. 2004-18. 12. RESOLUTION NO. 2004-19 SUPPORTING THE IMPROVEMENTS FOR THE RICE CREEK WEST REGIONAL TRAIL. Dr. William Burns, City Manager, said the Anoka County Parks and Recreation Department applied for a Federal Recreation Grant through the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. If funded, the grant would provide for improvements to the regional bikeway/walkway trail between University Avenue and Highway 65. The project would include resurfacing, sign replacement and stream bank erosion control. The Parks and Recreation Commission approved a similar resolution of support. Staff recommended Council's approval. ADOPTED RESOLUTION NO. 2004-19. 13. APPOINTMENT — CITY EMPLOYEE. Dr. William Burns, City Manager, said staff recommended the appointment of Margo Prasek as Recreation Program Supervisor. Staff recommended Council's approval. APPROVED APPOINTMENT OF MARGO PRASEK AS RECREATION PROGRAM SUPERVISOR. 14. CLAIMS. APPROVED CLAIM NOS. 115324 THROUGH 115487. 15. LICENSES. APPROVED THE LICENSES AS SUBMITTED AND AS ON FILE. 16. ESTIMATES. APPROVED THE FOLLOWING ESTIMATE: CM Construction Company 12215 Nicollet Avenue South Burnsville, NIN 55337 Rogers, MN 55374-9461 Fridley Municipal Garage Remodeling Project FINAL ESTIMATE $14,812.07 FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF FEBRUARY 23, 2004 PAGE 6 APPROVAL OF PROPOSED CONSENT AGENDA. Dr. Burns recommended approval of the consent agenda. Councilmember Wolfe asked to remove Item No. 5 from the consent agenda. Councilmember Bolkcom asked to remove Item Nos. 6 and 7 from the consent agenda. Mayor Lund asked that a correction be made to Page 13 of the minutes of January 26, 2004. Under Item No. 20, change the paragraph on the vote to read: Upon a voice vote, Mayor Lund, Councilmember Barnette, Councilmember Billings and Councilmember Bolkcom voting aye and Councilmember Wolfe voting nay, Mayor Lund declared the motion carried on a 4 to 1 vote. MOTION by Councilmember Barnette to adopt the proposed consent agenda with the removal of Item Nos. 5, 6 and 7 to the regular agenda and the correction to the minutes of January 26, 2004. Seconded by Councilmember Wolfe. 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 with the addition of Item Nos. 5, 6 and 7. Seconded by Councilmember Wolfe. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. OPEN FORUM: Mr. Tim Byrne, 6053 Woody Lane N.E., said he watched a Charter Commission meeting tape. He was under the assumption that Council had decided to put the sewer and water rates on the ballot ne�t fall. The Charter Commission was discussing amending the Charter to achieve the same objective. He asked for an update. Mayor Lund said the Charter Commission held a public meeting to get input from the public. The Charter Commission had not yet made a recommendation to Council. Mr. Byrne said if the water and sewer fees had to be increased above the inflationary rate, maybe they could reduce all other spending by that same amount. He did not think the citizens should automatically pay higher and higher water bills. Mayor Lund said a large portion of the fees were passed down from the Met Council and the State. Seventy-three percent of the fees collected for the sewer charge were from outside charges. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF FEBRUARY 23, 2004 PAGE 7 Mr. Byrne said the spirit of the ordinance was that the City Council and the City were going to live within its means. If the fees were put on autopilot, he asked if they would compensate and spend less on the other end on non-essential items. Mayor Lund said they were user fees for people using City services. Dr. William Burns, City Manager, said it was an agenda item. Mr. Byrne asked what new services were being provided and if any non-essential services were going to be eliminated. He said he passed Madsen Park during the winter and did not think the hockey rink was utilized this winter. He suggested that ne�t year they analyze the cost of hiring someone as a warming house attendant for safety purposes. Councilmember Bolkcom said the rinks were not being used when they had warming house attendants. She said they needed to look at all the ice skating rinks in Fridley. Councilmember Barnette said they had cut back on ice rinks. Councilmember Billings said that the actual costs were the warming house attendants because the people maintaining the ice were on hand for snow plowing and other things. Mr. John Darus, St. Anthony Falls Group, 4045 Xe�es Avenue North, Minneapolis, said he spent most of his life in Fridley, and his kids went to school in Fridley, and he had relatives and friends in Fridley. He represented four corporate citizens of Fridley. Ms. Madeleine Saltness introduced herself and said she represented the Fridley American Legion, 7365 Central Avenue N.E. Mr. Richard Defoe introduced himself and said he represented Sharx Club, 3720 East River Road N.E. Mr. George Vespa introduced himself and said he represented Joe DiMaggio's Sports Bar and Grill, 1298 East Moore Lake Drive. Mr. Bob Chaput introduced himself and said he represented Main Event, 7820 University Avenue N.E. Mr. Darus read the following letter from the four individuals: To All the Members of the Fridley City Council: As we are sure you are aware, the recent passage of Minnesota Statute 340A.504 allows local municipalities to allow later closing times for facilities serving beer and liquor located within their boundaries. As you know, we are in a highly competitive business. Collectively, we employ in excess of 140 people, pay sales tax in excess of $400,000 a year, they could not estimate property taxes now but they were considerable, and make FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF FEBRUARY 23, 2004 PAGE 8 many donations to numerous charities and non-profit organizations in Fridley, including the Lions Club, Fridley High School, Totino Grace High School, Fridley Rotary, Chamber of Commerce and sports teams of all ages. We are very proud to be corporate citizens of Fridley. It is a great place to live and do business. However, our ability to do business successfully depends on our ability to compete with business in the area surrounding Fridley. At the present time, we are at an e�treme disadvantage. It is vitally important to us, the undersigned, that you grant our petition for the option of the later closing time so that we will be able to compete on a level playing field with the businesses in the surrounding communities. Therefore, we respectfully request that you grant us the later closing time option immediately so that we might continue to contribute to our community here in Fridley. Mr. Darus said the letter was signed by the four individuals. The State legislature passed the law and the Governor signed it. It did say local option and that was why they were before Council. His clients know about the 60-40 rule and feel that that they have been and can adhere to the 60-40 rule and have no problems with it. To fail to be able to compete with other business entities in the surrounding communities caused their revenues to go down. He said when someone started going to another place for whatever reason, it was hard to get them back If the other business had something to offer that you did not such as a later closing time that made it more difficult. The new law so far was not a problem. They were at the meeting to request that this issue be referred to a committee and an open hearing be held so they could testify and tell them why it was important. He said there were a lot of people interested in this issue. Mayor Lund said they have had discussions with some of the liquor operators. Council took the position that they were going to wait six months. A question on the 2:00 a.m. closing was included in the Council/Commission survey to get input from the other commission members in the City. Council was waiting for information from the Police Department to see if there had been any problems with the 2:00 a.m. closing. He said they would be looking at it in the near future, but he did not have a definite date or time. Mr. Darus said something needed to be done now because every day they did not have the law, the businesses lost revenues and customers. Councilmember Bolkcom said she spoke with the Anoka County Sheriff. She thought that other than Minneapolis, in Anoka County, Spring Lake Park might have passed a resolution and possibly St. Francis. Mr. Darus said there was request in Coon Rapids. Mayor Lund said he thought Spring Lake Park, Mounds View and Blaine had passed resolutions. Dr. William Burns, City Manager, said Council would be meeting on April 19 with the Planning Commission and the Appeals Commission to discuss the results of the survey, and that would be one of the items discussed that night. Mayor Lund asked if they would have the information by then. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF FEBRUARY 23, 2004 PAGE 9 Councilmember Bolkcom asked if they had DUI and accident reports. She asked if the kitchens would stay open longer. A few of the people present were close to the 60-40 ratio now and she was wondering if there would be problems if they stayed open one hour longer. Mr. Darus said they would not be at the meeting if it was not an economic hardship. Mayor Lund said if they held a hearing, they would the statistics from the Police Department. He said it was scheduled to be discussed at the April conference meeting. He said they needed time to get the information they needed to make a decision. Councilmember Wolfe said some of the businesses were on the edge of the 60-40 ratio. He said they might be losing a little business now, but if they could not meet the ratio with an e�tra hour of liquor being sold, they could be completely out of business. Mr. Darus said they understood that. He asked if they could vote on a resolution. Councilmember Bolkcom said they were meeting in April and would talk about it. She said it would be a huge economic impact on the citizens if they had to change the way the Police Department was staffed. They needed to make an informed decision and to hear from both sides. She thought it was important to look at the accidents and DUI incidents, look at some of the other communities doing already this and what kind of problems they had, together with the information the businesses could provide. Mayor Lund said the resolution would be determined by the information that was provided. Mr. Darus asked if they were going to have a hearing sometime in April on this issue. Mayor Lund said they would have a discussion on it. Mr. Darus asked if there would be an opportunity for input at that time. Mayor Lund said it would be appropriate to bring the proprietors in at some point after the discussion to provide them with an opportunity to voice their concerns. MOTION by Councilmember Billings to receive a letter from Ms. Saltness, Mr. Vespa, Mr. Chaput and Mr. DeFoe. Seconded by Councilmember Wolfe. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Mr. Donald Anderson, 7304 West Circle N.E., said he saw the Planning Commission meeting about the request from Spring Lake Park School District to use a residential home at 7517 Fourth Street N.E. for mentally challenged students. He said he was one of those students in the early 1990s. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF FEBRUARY 23, 2004 PAGE 10 Mayor Lund asked him if he wanted to voice his opinion. Mr. Anderson said he was in a home setting from 1992 to 1996 and he thought a home like this would work out. Dr. William Burns said that at the last Council meeting a resident made a number of comments and asked questions. Since that time, he had spoken with staff and the City Attorney and wanted to respond. The resident asked a question about a moratorium on rezoning until the comprehensive plan could be addressed. The City could initiate a moratorium as long as there was just cause and the time was reasonable. A moratorium could not be used to delay or stop a pending project. A comment was made that salaried and elected officials should live within the City. The State Supreme Court had determined those requirements were unconstitutional. As a practical matter, since most other cities did not have a residency requirement, it would make it significantly more difficult to fill specialized City positions. A comment was made that the remodeling coordinator should be eliminated. The City did not have a remodeling coordinator and had not had one since 2000. The City did contract out to CEE for a minor amount of remodeling advice to City housing rehabilitation clients. In 2003, that amount was around $3,000. A comment was made that the Recycling Coordinator should be eliminated. There was no law that required recycling services. The City's response was that there were State and County laws that mandated recycling among municipalities. Half of the Recycling Coordinator's salary was provided through SCORE funding. The Recycling Coordinator had raised grant funding for the water quality project for the Springbrook Nature Center and regularly participated as a code enforcement officer as well as in other planning duties. A comment was made about the newsletter dye. While it contained a lot of news, the City could probably do it much cheaper on standard newspaper and in black and white. The City newsletter costs about $6,000 an issue or about $36,000 per year out of a$12.2 million General Fund budget. The cost was divided among graphic design, printing and postage. The City could probably get by more cheaply with less expensive paper and no color. A couple of years ago, staff switched printers and in the process went from front and back color to full color for what amount to be about $300 per issue. While we could get by without color, it would not reduce any of the cost for postage or layout. It should be kept in mind that the City had not replaced the $52,000 position that previously had responsibility for the newsletter. There was a slight odor from the newsletter's soy-based ink Due to cost factors, the newsletter was not run through a"heat set" process which would dry the ink on the newsletter before it was distributed. To go through a heat set process would be tremendously expensive. Dr. Burns said the resident asked how the developer of the Town Center senior condo project would guarantee that seniors would be living in the condos. The homeowners association's bylaws would control the conditions under which the units were sold or rented. They expected that seniors who had put down their money for units would be very reluctant to change the bylaws in a manner that would allow younger families and/or rentals. The same could also be said for the DeMello project that was being considered for the east side of Old Central Avenue. A statement was made that it was ironic that the City was contemplating charging for medical assist calls while at the same time co-sponsoring the "Heart Safe Community Iniative." The majority of the calls would most likely be from seniors who could least afford the new fees. The City was not contemplating charging fees for medical assist calls. Fees would be charged to cover costs for responses to FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF FEBRUARY 23, 2004 PAGE 11 personal injury accidents, vehicle fires, contractor-induced utility line ruptures, and fires caused by arson or negligence. 00 Mayor Lund asked Mr. Burns to send a letter to the resident who made the comments. Mr. Jon Haukaas, Public Works Director, had a response to a long-overdue request for information on water and sewer connection inspection services. The City's current fee for sewer and water connection inspections was $40. The City provided a visual inspection only. They checked to make sure the contractor was licensed, verified the materials that were used, and made a visual inspection. They did not climb down into the excavation at all. If there were obvious problems they might go to that e�tent provided they felt it was safe. The visual inspection was for the City's infrastructure as well as for the homeowner who paid the fee. They surveyed surrounding communities and put together the current fees they were charging. Blaine charged $25 each for residential sewer or water service connection inspection and it was a visual inspection only which was performed by their sewer and/or water department personnel. They have all been sent to additional inspector school. Fridley has had a construction inspector on staff doing those inspections until the past year. Columbia Heights charged $35 for their utility connection inspections, and it was a visual inspection only unless a problem was evident. They did require a trench box for protection on any excavation a City employee must enter. The inspections were performed by their utility department personnel who had cross-training at an MPWA Inspector SchooL Coon Rapids charged $50.50 for a sewer connection inspection and $50.00 for a water service connection and it was a visual inspection only. Some of their utility department personnel were trained at the MPWA Inspector School. New Brighton did not charge a separate inspection fee for sewer and water service connections. It was charged under the SAC fees or other building permit fees. They have their utility supervisors cross-trained for inspections. Spring Lake Park charged $35.50 per trip for their sewer and water service connection inspections. If there was a problem and the inspector had to return, there would be another trip charge. It was a visual inspection only, unless a problem was evident. They cross-train utility department personnel at the MPWA Inspector School. It was his conclusion that the City's fees and policies were generally the same as surrounding neighbors. While an inspector was no longer on staff because that was one of the positions eliminated last year, they should budget for a contract inspector again or look at cross-training some of the City's utility personnel. Councilmember Bolkcom asked that a reply be sent to the resident. PUBLIC HEARING: 17. NPDES ANNUAL UPDATE. MOTION by Councilmember Bolkcom to waive the reading of the public hearing notice and open the public hearing. Seconded by Councilmember Billings. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF FEBRUARY 23, 2004 PAGE 12 Mr. Jon Haukaas, Public Works Director, said it was not a true public hearing, but a public meeting required by the State of Minnesota as part of the NPDES permit. NPDES stood for National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System. It was a program mandated by the United States EPA under the Clean Water Act and they delegated that authority to the state level. These new rules increased the regulation of storm water control from industrial use, from construction sites, and from municipal storm sewer systems. They required each of the activities or systems to meet certain requirements to obtain permits and pay appropriate permit fees. The storm water program started with Phase I in the early 1990s and required major metropolitan areas to permit their storm sewer systems. Phase I required all construction sites of 5 acres or larger to obtain a permit and meet certain criteria for preventing erosion. Phase I also created a permit for run-off from industrial activities. In that permit there were a number of exemptions primarily for governmental facilities. That has been eliminated in the Phase II program. The storm water program as it applies to an MS4, municipal separate storm sewer system, which was what Fridley was, was a system of storm water conveyances such as streets, manholes, catch basins, pipes and ponds that are owned or operated by a government organization. The mandated program regulated the MS4. Phase II was required by cities larger than 10,000 people or denser than areas of at least 1,000 people per square mile, basically suburban areas, which made it apply to the entire metro area. It also dropped the construction site threshold from 5 acres to 1 acre. This program was run by the MPCA. Developers affecting greater than one acre had to apply to the State for a construction site permit. With respect to industrial site classifications, it changed the no-exposure industrial sites making a lot of industrial and municipal owned or other government facilities prove that they are detrimentally affecting the environment by their storm sewers. Mr. Haukaas said the Storm Water Pollution Prevention Program or SWPPP was the main component. It was up to the cities to select and implement the program that was appropriate for their area. BMP was Best Management Practices that prevented or reduced pollution of waters of the state. The local storm water program had to have flexibilities to determine what the City needed to do on its own, establish measurable goals and best management practices to meet those goals, and track and record them. Through coordination with the LMC, 122 cities, 3 counties and 1 township got together and created a large guide plan that helped with developing the permit. BMPs were measures or practices used to prevent or reduce the pollution of the waters of the state. There were often divided into structural or non-structural. Structural was generally something that was physically done or constructed. Non-structural were often educational components. The program includes six minimum measures, including public education and outreach, public involvement and participation, illicit discharge detection and elimination, construction site runoff control, post construction storm water management, pollution prevention and good housekeeping for municipal operations. Mr. Haukaas said the City had been very proactive in the area of storm water management over the years and did not have to create anything new. With respect to public education and outreach, the City had been showing cable television videos. There was an Anoka County library display that provided brochures and information on less toxic options for lawn and gardening and house maintenance. With the Springbrook Nature Center program, they created two direct mail pieces. One was directed to the Springbrook Watershed property owners that showed what happened to storm water as it went through the Nature Center. There was another piece directed to all the residents of the upper Mississippi Watershed, which covered the City of Fridley and other FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF FEBRUARY 23, 2004 PAGE 13 communities. It was a cooperative effort. There were six Springbrook Nature Center Saturday workshops in 2003. They would not be listed in the plan for ne�t year, but the workshops would still be held. There was a game called "How's the Water" which educated 4th through 6th grade students during the E�tension Service's natural resource field trip visits to the Nature Center. This will also be eliminated from the plan, not only because of the Nature Center, but because the E�tension Service had cut their budget. There was also an interactive computer kiosk called "Alex the Frog" which was interactive software that educated adults and children about storm water and how it impacted wetlands. Mr. Haukaas said the second part of the program was public participation and involvement. There where three items under this category. One was the Home and Garden Fair which was a four-city fair conducted to promote the use of rain barrels and rain gardens. It was scheduled for Apri124, 2004, at the Springbrook Nature Center. The second item was inlet stenciling such as putting stickers on catch basins or putting a stencil on the street ne�t to the catch basin. Community or school groups are recruited to help. The third item was wetland curriculum at the Springbrook Nature Center for 3rd and 8th graders from the Fridley School District. Mr. Haukaas said the third part of the program was illicit discharge detection and elimination. One requirement under this section included creating a storm sewer map. The City has had this for many years, and it is updated every year. Another item was storm sewer lining. The City had been repairing the older lines for leaking joints and structural deficiencies. The City was also required to inspect 20 percent of outfall each year to get everything checked on a five-year cycle. The City has created checklist forms and inspection reports which will be kept on file with pictures. There was a requirement for the revision of the illicit discharge ordinance. The City has had an illicit discharge ordinance since 1995 prohibiting sump pump discharges to the sanitary sewer and other discharges to the storm sewer. It looked like the City's ordinance was good. There may be some small changes made in the second year of the program. The City's newsletter had also included articles on sump pumps and pool discharges. Mr. Haukaas said the ne�t two parts of the program were construction site runoff control and post construction storm water management in development/redevelopment. This included revising ordinances and creating brochures. The City's ordinances did cover what was needed. They were working on creating some brochures with some handouts and checklists for developers and construction inspectors dealing with erosion control for projects. Permanent storm water controls such as ponds and infiltration areas have been required for years. With the new regulations, there may be a few more projects. Most of the projects would be for redevelopment projects. Mr. Haukaas said the si�th part of the program was pollution prevention and good housekeeping for municipal operations. The City had identified three things that were being done for many years. One was storm sewer treatment device cleaning. There were four in the City. Two were installed in 1999 with the Anoka County reconstruction of Central Avenue. Two more were added on the south side of Locke Lake with the 2002 street reconstruction project. They are cleaned every year and inspected at least twice a year. They were removing a lot of sediment before they were discharged into Locke Lake or Rice Creek The second item was the annual street sweeping. There was a contract to get the entire City done in the spring and staff continued street sweeping throughout the year. Last year the entire City was done almost four times and almost 3,900 cubic FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF FEBRUARY 23, 2004 PAGE 14 yards of sediment were removed from the streets that would otherwise have been washed into the lakes and rivers. Councilmember Barnette asked what they did with the sediment. Mr. Haukaas said it was brought to the construction sites that need sand or fi1L Most of it was screened. The last item was there was a cable television show called "Your Eco Home." Six shows were prepared in 2003. Some of the items included in the shows were landscaping for wildlife, the new pond at 85th and University Avenues and how it would help the Springbrook Nature Center, how to protect the Mississippi River from storm water runoff, Living Green Expo, the Home and Garden Fair, and converting garbage to electricity. Mr. Haukaas said in 2004 they would be removing the items done by the Springbrook Nature Center. He said they would try to do them as long as they were able, but they did not want to make them a requirement. This would not affect the City's compliance with the NPDES permit. MOTION by Councilmember Billings to close the public hearing. Seconded by Councilmember Barnette. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. NEW BUSINESS: 5. SECOND READING OF AN ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING A NEW CHAPTER OF THE FRIDLEY CITY CODE SETTING SERVICE CHARGES FOR EMERGENCY RESPONSE CALLS. Councilmember Wolfe said he had a problem with charging a fee for a car fire. Councilmember Billings asked how many car fires were on vehicles passing through the City of Fridley who were non-residents. Mr. John Berg, Fire Chief, said he did not have the statistics. He said he would guess that most of the car fires on the highways were transient. Councilmember Billings asked if there were a lot of car fires in parking lots and on City streets or were the mostly on the highways. Mr. Berg said a majority of vehicle fires were on the highways and City streets. There were a few in parking lots. He guessed that very few vehicle car fires were in driveways or parked in the resident proper. Councilmember Wolfe asked about charging a non-resident fee. He did not know if there would be a legal issue. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF FEBRUARY 23, 2004 PAGE 15 City Attorney Fritz Knaak said it was a legal issue. He said if it was a service provided to the public at large, you could not differentiate. Councilmember Bolkcom said she had a concern about the people who could not afford the fee. She asked what would happen if someone did not have insurance or the money to pay the fee. Mayor Lund said they would probably let it go. Mr. Berg said it was not in the ordinance but they did discuss it. Councilmember Bolkcom said she would like to table the second reading of the ordinance and look at what some other communities have done and check with the insurance companies and determine if there was something that could be written into the ordinance Councilmember Wolfe said he would like to wait on it. He asked if it would affect insurance rates. Councilmember Billings asked if the residents of Fridley were paying for the fires to be put out. Mr. Berg said they were. Councilmember Billings said if they did not create a policy such as this, taxes would go up. Someone had to pay for the services. He said the intent with the ordinance was to have those people who were benefiting from the services pay the fees for the service so that everyone else in the City did not have to pay for the services. MOTION by Councilmember Wolfe to continue the second reading of the ordinance to get more information from the insurance companies. Seconded by Councilmember Bolkcom. Councilmember Bolkcom asked Councilmember Wolfe if his intention of continuing this item was so that they could look information from insurance companies, if this has been done in other communities and what they are doing and about the ability to pay the fees. Councilmember Wolfe agreed. Councilmember Billings said he thought the motion was to contact insurance companies to see if they were going to pay. He asked how many insurance companies should be surveyed. He said the proposal from staff was that those people actually using the services were going to be charged a fee. Councilmember Wolfe said that every taxpayer in the City of Fridley was paying for the City to have firefighters. If someone who lived in the City had to use them, they would be charged an e�ra fee. Councilmember Billings said costs were going up every year. Their taxes would continue to go up because services were provided that cost money. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF FEBRUARY 23, 2004 PAGE 16 Councilmember Bolkcom said it was her understanding that they would look at some other communities, such as Brooklyn Park, Brooklyn Center, Spring Lake Park, and Mounds View, to see what they were doing. Mr. Burns said to table this to look at what other fire departments were doing was a valid inquiry. The insurance inquiry would be difficult. Councilmember Bolkcom said her other suggestion was to look at what insurance companies have done in the other communities. Mr. Burns said it was a relatively new change and he did not know if there was that much experience to work with. Mr. Berg said there are communities who have been doing this for a number of years, including Spring Lake Park and Mounds View. Mr. Burns suggested that Councilmember Wolfe, Mr. Berg and Attorney Knaak work together to determine if there was an opt-out method. MOTION by Councilmember Wolfe to table the second reading of this ordinance until March 29, 2004. Seconded by Councilmember Bolkcom. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 6. FIRST READING OF AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE FRIDLEY CITY CODE, CHAPTER 11, FEES. Councilmember Bolkcom asked staff to go over the fees and the fee study. Mr. Rick Pribyl, said he worked with the auditors the City contracted with to conduct the study. Staff went over what they did on a day-to-day, weekly, monthly and an annual basis to try to break that down into service providing activities. He, the auditor working on the survey and a division supervisor or department manager then met and went over the activities and tried to ascertain the amount of time each employee spent on each of the activities, the actual costs and what was currently charged and made their proposal. The charges were for those services provided to an individual. Councilmember Bolkcom asked why some of the fees were crossed off. Mr. Pribyl said a number were incorporated into other sections. Mayor Lund asked about the change in the reinspection fee under multiple dwelling. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF FEBRUARY 23, 2004 PAGE 17 Mr. Berg said the fee for the initial inspection included reinspection. There was a time period to make the corrections and the reinspection was included. After that, any additional inspections were charged the reinspection fee. Mayor Lund asked if the $41.25 under Section 220 for a single rental unit was an annual fee. Mr. Berg said it was an annual fee. Mayor Lund asked if it was an annual inspection fee. Mr. Berg agreed. Mayor Lund asked when the reinspection fee was charged. Mr. Berg said on the third inspection. Councilmember Bolkcom said the rental units were inspected every fourth year. Mr. Berg agreed. Councilmember Bolkcom said the fee was paid but they were not inspected unless there was a complaint. Mayor Lund indicated that on Page 29, under 23 Public Dance, the dollar amount should be $75.00. Mr. Berg said there was someone in the audience who had comments about the rental housing fees. Councilmember Billings indicated that on Page 25, 217a(c) should read "8-12." Mr. Harvey Filister, 5750 East River Road, one of the owners of Georgetown Apartments, said he had problems with the increase in inspection fees for several reasons. One reason is the rental market is not good. They are in one of the worst times they have ever had. To impose the fees at this point in time was unreasonable and would be passed on to the residents. Gas bills have gone up. Electric bills have gone up. Taxes go up every year. Someone had to pay that. He also had a problem with they whole inspection program. This was something Council decided to do. The residents did not appreciate people going into their apartments. The City was asking them to pay the City's costs for the inspectors. Mayor Lund said the increase in the fee was minimal. Mr. Filister said that was not the issue. It was something they had to pay. Mayor Lund said they were still being subsidized by the taxpayers of Fridley for the inspections. Mr. Filister said they were also taxpayers. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF FEBRUARY 23, 2004 PAGE 18 Mayor Lund asked Mr. Berg what their actual costs were. Mr. Berg said their actual costs were close to $100,000, which included the activities they were involved in, the cost of a full-time firefighter, and a 32-hour administrator. The actual fees collected for licensing and reinspections cover about 60 percent of that cost. With the proposed increase, they would be closer to about 80 percent. Councilmember Bolkcom asked what the fee was for Auction on Page 25. Mr. Pribyl said it would be $30.00 up to a week. Councilmember Bolkcom said the word "amusement" was spelled wrong. Councilmember Barnette asked how the fees increases got around the charter amendment language. Attorney Knaak said under the Charter language, they were allowed to charge for services that are directly provided. That language actually required indirectly that they conduct the kind of study that was done. The law generally said that municipalities cannot charge fees other than to recover their costs. In the case of Fridley specifically, there was different language in the charter which said they could not raise fees above the non-inflationary level except in instances were they tracked actual costs. With the study that was done, there was some objective basis for that calculation. Councilmember Bolkcom asked what "duplicate" meant on Page 26 under pogs. Mr. Pribyl said it was in case a license was misplaced. Mayor Lund said Mr. Filister said rental inspection per unit fee had been increased. Mr. Berg said it increased 50 percent from $5.50 to $8.25. Mayor Lund said the amount listed on Page 28 should be $8.25, not $5.50. Councilmember Wolfe said people may question the amount the fees are going up and whether they were already being paid to do the job. Mayor Lund said some people may like the fee increases. Ultimately they were talking about user fees and getting closer to the actual cost. Councilmember Billings said Page 27 included the on-sale liquor fees. Currently the fees were based on the square footage of the business and ranged from $6,000, $7,000 and $8,000 for no entertainment and $7,000, $8,000 and $9,000 for entertainment. Based on his recollection of problems the Chief of Police reported, the establishments that have entertainment and dancing were costing much more than $1,000 additionally per year. The fees for the liquor on-sale club FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF FEBRUARY 23, 2004 PAGE 19 were based on the number of inembers, but there was no additional fee if they had entertainment. He asked if they should revisit this issue and slightly lower the costs for those establishments that did not have entertainment and establishing an entertainment fee that would be applicable not only to on-sale but also to the clubs. Mr. Pribyl said they would work with that. Councilmember Billings said what was happening was a restaurant that closed at 11:00 p.m. at night was picking up through the fees some of the costs of an establishment opened later. He asked if the fees should be amended so that the on-sale liquor license fee reflected what was actually happening. Mayor Lund asked if the fees were mandated by State Statute. Mr. Pribyl said they were not but there was a"not to exceed" number. Mayor Lund asked if the amounts were proportionate to the caps in the State Statute. Mr. Pribyl said he did not recall exactly but they were out of the State Statutes. The amounts had not been increased for a while. He said they would be looking at the amounts. Councilmember Billings said he did not know if they should ask the other on-sale liquor establishments there were not staying open that late at night to subsidize the on-sale establishments or clubs that were. He thought there should be multiple fees for the on-sale depending on size, multiple fees for clubs depending on the size and membership but then to have an entertainment license fee to cover the additional costs. Councilmember Bolkcom asked how entertainment was defined. Mr. Pribyl said he needed to take a look at it. Councilmember Billings said that the chapter only addressed the fees and the particular chapters would indicate the definitions and other information. MOTION by Councilmember Bolkcom to waive the reading and approve the ordinance on first reading including correction of typographical errors, changes and clarification of items that were discussed and identified. Seconded by Councilmember Barnette. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 7. FIRST READING OF AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE FRIDLEY CITY CODE, CHAPTER 206, BUILDING CODE, ADOPTING THE 2001 STATE BUILDING CODE. Councilmember Bolkcom asked for a clarification of the third paragraph on Page 40. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF FEBRUARY 23, 2004 PAGE 20 Mr. Scott Hickok, Community Development Director, said the State Mechanical Code now required that there be a new minimum fee for mechanical, but if the device itself and the installation cost was less than $500, the fee shall not be more than $15. Councilmember Bolkcom asked that the third paragraph under State Rules, Chapter 1306, on Page 40 be explained. Mr. Hickok said the paragraph referred to sprinkler provisions of the code and how it related to the building fees. As Council adopted the new international code, they needed to recognize that they were adopting a new Chapter 1306 with a couple modifications. They had a choice of selecting Subpart 2 or Subpart 3. Each required automatic sprinkle systems in new buildings. Subpart 2 required that a sprinkler be installed in the new addition of the building only. Subpart 3 required that the original building and the new addition be sprinklered. It was staffs' recommendation that Council select Subpart 3. Councilmember Bolkcom said on Page 51 under water usage, it read metered and $1.25. She asked if that was the new change. Mr. Hickok said that $1.25 was the new language. Councilmember Billings said immediately above that line on Page 51 it read, ". .. City does not supply hose or" and the word equipment was stricken. Mr. Hickok said the "or" should have been stricken also. Councilmember Bolkcom said on Page 55 under "specific trades licensed," would she need a license if she was a painter. Mr. Hickok said she would not for a painting contractor for construction. Councilmember Bolkcom said that on Page 56, Item 13, if someone was licensed by the State, they would not need to obtain a license from the City. Mr. Hickok said they would need to provide proof and have satisfactory Worker's Compensation and public liability insurance coverage. Mayor Lund said on the first line of page 53, "forty-seven" should read "fifty." Mr. Hickok agreed. Mayor Lund said on Page 56 near the bottom under Item 2, Deposit — Required, Subsection A, the amount required was $200. He thought that amount was low. Mr. Haukaas said cash deposits were the responsibility of the homeowner and they were not sure they wanted to get into that. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF FEBRUARY 23, 2004 PAGE 21 Mayor Lund said he thought the amount was too low. In other communities, it was higher. Mr. Haukaas said depending on the type of work, if it went into the street, the City charged a street restoration fee. That would be separate. Mr. Hickok said there were bonds on multi-family, commercial and industrial properties that cover costs of site improvement. Mayor Lund said the section on Page 57, under Section 206.09.3 called "Trailer Prohibitions" was old language. He said on Page 58, in the first line at the top of the page, it mentioned the hours for Saturdays and legal holidays but a couple of lines down it said it was unlawful to work on any legal holiday. Mr. Hickok said they were not allowed to work on legal holidays. He said the language would be corrected. Councilmember Billings asked where legal holidays were defined. Mr. Hickok said there was a list of legal holidays defined in the statutes. MOTION by Councilmember Bolkcom to waive the reading and approve the ordinance on first reading with the changes that were discussed. Seconded by Councilmember Wolfe. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 18. INFORMAL STATUS REPORT. Councilmember Bolkcom said she attended the Lions SOth anniversary party. She congratulated the Lions on their 50 years of service. Mayor Lund thanked the Fridley Middle School staff, students and volunteers for the great job they did on the StarGazers program. Mayor Lund said the Empty Bowls for SACCA would be held Thursday, March 11, 2004, at the Fridley Community Center from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Mr. Scott Hickok, Community Development Director, said the North Metro Home and Garden Fair would be held on Saturday, March 6, 2004, from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Mounds View Community Center. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF FEBRUARY 23, 2004 PAGE 22 ADJOURNMENT: MOTION by Councilmember Barnette to adjourn the City Council meeting. Seconded by Councilmember Wolfe. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY AND THE MEETING WAS ADJOURNED. Respectfully submitted, Roberta S. Collins Secretary ������ Scott J. Lund Mayor