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04/11/2005 - 00026796CITY COUNCIL MEETING CITY OF FRIDLEY APRIL 11, 2005 The City Council meeting for the City of Fridley 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-at-Large Barnette Councilmember Billings Councilmember Wolfe Councilmember Bolkcom OTHERS PRESENT: William Burns, City Manager Fritz Knaak, City Attorney Scott Hickok, Community Development Director Jon Haukaas, Public Works Director Rebecca Brazys, Recording Secretary APPROVAL OF PROPOSED CONSENT AGENDA: APPROVAL OF MINUTES: • City Council Meeting of March 28, 2005. APPROVED. NEW BUSINESS: 1. Approve Agreement between the City of Fridley and John DeMello and ProfitMax, Inc. Dr. Burns, City Manager, explained that in January, John DeMello provided the City with drawings depicting a redesigned senior condominium project for the east side of Old Central Avenue. The new design purported to address the concerns raised by neighbors in the area when the original plan was denied by Council. Staff and Council subsequently met in a conference meeting in January with Attorney John Baker to discuss the project and Mr. DeMello's pending litigation against the City. In the aftermath of that meeting, Mr. Baker and Mr. DeMello's attorney have worked out the FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF APRIL 11, 2005 PAGE 2 agreement currently before Council. While the agreement does not in any way obligate Council to give favorable consideration to the January proposal, it does maintain that should Council approve the land use applications for this project, within thirty days of the approvals, Mr. DeMello will ask the Federal Court to dismiss his pending legal action against the City. On the advice of Attorney John Baker, staff recommends Council's approval. REMOVED FROM CONSENT AGENDA AND PLACED ON THE REGULAR AGEN DA. 2. Receive Bids and Award Contract for the 2005 Street Improvement Project No. ST. 2005-1. Dr. Burns, City Manager, explained that seven bids were opened for this project on April 8. The low bidder is Palda and Sons, Inc. of St. Paul in the amount of $2,403,644.45. Staff recommends that Council award the bid to the low bidder. APPROVED. 3. Receive Bids and Award Contract for the Sanitary Sewer Lining Project No. 360. APPROVED. 4. Claims (121034 — 121221). APPROVED. 5. Licenses. APPROVED THE LICENSES AS SUBMITTED AND AS ON FILE. Councilmember Billings requested Item 1 be removed from the consent agenda for further discussion. MOTION by Councilmember Barnette, seconded by Councilmember Wolfe, to adopt the consent agenda with the removal of Item 1. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. ADOPTION OF AGENDA MOTION by Councilmember Bolkcom, seconded by Councilmember Wolfe, to adopt the agenda with the addition of Item 1. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF APRIL 11, 2005 PAGE 3 UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. OPEN FORUM (VISITORS): Consideration of items not on agenda — 15 minutes. Ms. Joan Zmuda, 6051 Fourth Street N.E., asked when the report from the housing forums held by the City will be available to the public. She also asked if the City has an opinion on the Vikings Stadium proposal for Blaine and how many lawsuits are pending against the City at this time. Mr. Hickok, Community Development Director, stated they received the housing forum report last Thursday and it is in the process of being duplicated for distribution. It was due to the City in late January and staff was disappointed with the delay. Councilmember Bolkcom asked if the Executive Summary for the housing forum report can be placed on the City's website. She also asked if all City Commissions members will receive a copy. Mayor Lund stated there has been no discussion by City officials or staff regarding the Viking's stadium proposal. Councilmember Billings stated it would be premature to comment on the Viking's stadium at this time since the only information he has is through the media. Councilmember Bolkcom suggested Ms. Zmuda contact the County Commissioners since the Vikings stadium proposal is at their level. Mr. Knaak, City Attorney, said there are about five pending lawsuits against the City, most of which have been resolved. He offered to submit a report regarding pending litigation at the next Council meeting. He added that for a City the size of Fridley, the lawsuits are few. Mr. Don Anderson, 7304 West Circle N.E., asked when the potholes on Osborne Road will be repaired. Mr. Haukaas, Public Works Director, stated Osborne Road is under county jurisdiction. He believes the County is planning to repave that road this summer. Ms. Pam Reynolds, 1241 Norton Av. N.E., questioned the appropriateness of Planning Commission member Brad Dunham having an infomercial on the City's cable television station. Mayor Lund stated Connie Thompson from the Senior Program coordinates information for the City's seniors and Council has no involvement. He did offer to bring this matter to Ms. Thompson's attention. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF APRIL 11, 2005 PAGE 4 NEW BUSINESS: 1. Approve Agreement between the City of Fridley and John DeMello and ProfitMax, Inc. Councilmember Billings stated it is his understanding that after the City denied Mr. DeMello's original proposal, he began legal proceedings against the City. He also stated he understands that City staff and the City attorney do not believe that the City is under "tremendous jeopardy" from this lawsuit. The agreement that is on the agenda resulted when Mr. DeMello presented a revised proposal, and City staff indicated Mr. DeMello would have to go through the application process again. This agreement merely states that if Mr. DeMello submits a new application and if that application is approved by the City, Mr. DeMello will drop his lawsuit. The City is not agreeing to any new project at this point in time. The City is agreeing that Mr. DeMello has the right to bring a new proposal, which he could have done with or without the lawsuit. It is not binding the City to do anything but accept his application. Mr. Hickok, Community Development Director, agreed with Councilmember Billings' comments and added that staff is very comfortable with the terms of the agreement. Councilmember Billings further stated that Council's approval of this agreement does nothing more than indicate to the Court that Council is giving Mr. DeMello an opportunity to bring his project to us. Councilmember Wolfe added that it also means that the City is not approving the project. He stated the lawsuit does not affect his vote on this project. Mayor Lund said he believes this agreement is an attempt by Mr. DeMello to ease Council's minds about the lawsuit. Councilmember Bolkcom added that Mr. DeMello's new proposal will have to go through the public hearing process and his plans will have to be submitted for review. Mr. Hickok stated there is a benefit in the agreement in that the City will want to know that the expenses associated with Mr. DeMello's lawsuit will also be gone. He is not going to come back to the City for those expenses. Ms. Pam Reynolds, 1241 Norton Avenue N.E., stated she printed the DeMello agreement off the City's website. She asked if Council had seen the revised plans and if Mr. DeMello will have to go through the whole hearing process again. Councilmember Billings stated Council has seen the revised plans and Mr. DeMello will have to go through the hearing process as he did the first time. Councilmember Bolkcom asked if Mr. DeMello will be holding a neighborhood meeting to let the residents review his new proposal. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF APRIL 11, 2005 PAGE 5 Mr. Hickok stated this process will be identical to any other development process in spite of its history. MOTION by Councilmember Wolfe, seconded by Councilmember to approve the agreement between the City of Fridley and John DeMello and ProfitMax, Inc., and direct the appropriate staff to sign the agreement. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 6. Informal Status Report. Mayor Lund stated he received a telephone call from a Fridley resident indicating that Metro Mobility is proposing severe cuts in service. For those interested there is a meeting scheduled on April 19 at 6:30 p.m. at the Fridley Community Center. Mayor Lund announced a Block Captains meeting will be held April 20 at 6:30 p.m. in the lower level of City Hall. The Fridley Historical Society is holding their annual spaghetti dinner fundraiser April 30 at the Fridley Community Center. They are also asking for nominations for their second annual awards presentation to honor those individuals who have given significantly to the City. ADJOURNMENT MOTION by Councilmember Barnette, seconded by Councilmember Wolfe, to adjourn. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY AND THE MEETING ADJOURNED AT 8:00 PM. Respectfully submitted by, Rebecca Brazys Recording Secretary ������ Scott J. Lund Mayor